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The NAACP Turns 100 With a Sermon From the Preacher-in-Chief
President Obama was looser than he's been since his days on the campaign trail as he spoke Thursday at a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the nation's largest civil rights organization.
The energy came through the TV screen -- the cadence, the shouts of affirmation from the crowd at a New York City ballroom. While the reception was friendly, he had a tough task. His message had to reach those inside and outside the room.
Watch:
Watch:
To some, his very existence means the NAACP has lost its relevance. Members of the NAACP would disagree. They know too well the statistics that show African American families suffer disproportionately in times of economic distress. Specific policy remedies would be nice.
That's a lot to do in one speech.
Obama's words celebrated the very American-ness of the NAACP, an organization formed in 1909 by whites and blacks appalled by lynchings and the 1908 race riot in Springfield, the capital of Illinois and one-time home of Abraham Lincoln. He acknowledged his personal debt to the work of the NAACP, founded on a firm notion of justice.
"I understand there may be a temptation among some to think that discrimination is no longer a problem in 2009," he said. "And I believe that overall, there's probably never been less discrimination in America than there is today. But make no mistake: the pain of discrimination is still felt in America."
He also acknowledged that the challenges are no longer fire hoses and dogs but have changed, in many cases, to "structural inequalities that our nation's legacy of discrimination has left behind; inequalities still plaguing too many communities and too often the object of national neglect."
Obama offered information about the administration's economic development, health care and energy initiatives. And when the president returned to a theme he's sounded before, one of personal responsibility -- from parents, teachers and students -- it sounded like familiar advice to family.
"We need a new mind-set, a new set of attitudes -- because one of the most durable and destructive legacies of discrimination is the way that we have internalized a sense of limitation; how so many in our community have come to expect so little from the world and from themselves."
The theme of the importance of education as the path to success in America was woven through his speech.
"The state of our schools is not an African-American problem; it's an American problem. And if Al Sharpton, Mike Bloomberg and Newt Gingrich can agree that we need to solve it, then all of us can agree on that. All of us can agree that we need to offer every child in this country the best education the world has to offer, from the cradle through a career."
Reform is necessary, he said, but not enough.
"It also means pushing our kids to set their sights higher. They might think they've got a pretty good jump shot or a pretty good flow, but our kids can't all aspire to be the next LeBron or Lil Wayne. I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers. I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States."
That makes this president's message to this group unique. He can speak of the hard work ahead while representing how far the country has traveled. He can place the NAACP's story firmly within the history of America, with the goal of giving every child the chance that the president's mother, that his education, "that the United States of America gave me."
"That is how our union will be perfected and our economy rebuilt. That is how America will move forward in the next one hundred years."
And near the end of his speech to the NAACP and to the broader audience outside the room, he spoke of his family's visit to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, where the harrowing journey of many slaves began.
"I was reminded that no matter how bitter the rod or how stony the road, we have persevered, as Americans."
That's where the preaching came in.
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315 comments
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Mary C. Curtis
Mary C. Curtis, an NPR contributor based in Charlotte, N.C., was previously a writer and editor for The New York Times and the Charlotte Observer... more
Comments (315)
lrm
11:30AM Jul 17th 2009
she really downplayed the elements of the speech which said in effect:
get up off your butts and quit thinking that all of you are going to be in the nba or music industry...go to school get a real job, no one is going to support you or pay for your gas and rent.
oh yeah the discrimination still exists put it is now reversed.
get up off your butts and quit thinking that all of you are going to be in the nba or music industry...go to school get a real job, no one is going to support you or pay for your gas and rent.
oh yeah the discrimination still exists put it is now reversed.
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(5)
(5) 
uub140
3:04PM Jul 17th 2009
As much as I love our President, he should not be preaching to the NAACP, a badly dated organization and concept, until he gets his own family house in order.
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(2)
(2) Jared
8:17PM Jul 17th 2009
You left out b/c of the infighting amongst yourselves! It is really sad that you had to bring race into your argument against Mrs. Obama and her hairstyle. Don't like them, didn't and wouldn't vote for them. However, your argument against her is inadequate( at best) and mean spirited. Why do you care how she wears her hair and why must it look like a white persons? Why can't it just look nice b/c that is the way she likes to wear her hair? Why can't she be someone who looks professional because she is well groomed in appearance and dress? Your argument is flawed.
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(-2)
(-2) susanctuary78
8:37PM Jul 17th 2009
I never thought I'd defend Michelle 0bama, but you're putting her down for planting a vegetable garden? You call it a "truck" garden, but it is my understanding that when times were hard, and especially during WWII, they were called Victory Gardens. Since her husband is ruining what was left of our economy, we ALL should have planted them!
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(-1) griff0001
9:47PM Jul 17th 2009
Are you serious?
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(4) guitarlon
10:00PM Jul 17th 2009
It's obvious that you are NOT Afican American, but neither am I since I was born in America. You are pretending to speak as a black man, but your choice of words deceive you. Love is the answer to ALL of our problems, not hate. Also, integrity and compassion are ABSOLUTE requirements for either the Democratic or the Republican ideologies to work. Without these both will eventually fail. No matter who is President.
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(4) Jim
10:17PM Jul 17th 2009
No gardens are "truck" gardens. They are a means for people to get fresh produce that hasn't been sprayed or dusted to kill insects. They will know where it comes from and save money at the same time. Which is a necessity now. .
Most people get a feeling of accomplishment when they see the results and how it tastes.
I wonder how many gardeners we will have to hire to take care of "HER" (ha ha) truck garden.
Of course when she buys shoes that cost 450 dollars and a dress that costs over a thousand maybe she needs one.
Most people get a feeling of accomplishment when they see the results and how it tastes.
I wonder how many gardeners we will have to hire to take care of "HER" (ha ha) truck garden.
Of course when she buys shoes that cost 450 dollars and a dress that costs over a thousand maybe she needs one.
RATE THIS COMMENT: (6)
(6) ecook89305
10:20PM Jul 17th 2009
Maybe you feel inferior to them, but don't say most of us, because I do not believe that is true. I, for one, do not feel inferior to them and many others do not.
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(4) bigfile4
10:40PM Jul 17th 2009
You forgot to mention when kids do their homework or try to speak in standard English they are accused of 'trying to be white', same as being a 'race traitor'. This goes on at home as well as in the schools. What chance does a child have with this kind of a crazy mentality?
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(4) Parris
11:44PM Jul 17th 2009
You can't be African American.. your comments doesn't make sense
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(-1) R Baby Kat
12:46AM Jul 18th 2009
This is one of the most intelligent posts I've read in a long, long time. This one hits the nail squarely on the head.
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(2) mayahuelll
1:57AM Jul 18th 2009
Well put. However, I am glad he is preaching to the NAACP and the world. It is the only way to begin the change, by saying it plain and simple. There is no excuse and we MUST do better; and the change begins with the litle ones, we must do better by our/all children.
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(3)
(3) fasassvalkf6
6:13AM Jul 18th 2009
Well put
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(1) mstrpaul1
6:16PM Jul 17th 2009
Discrimination still runs rampage, but not always by color. Congress is dicriminating against disabled Americans by allowing the federal law ERISA to exist in the form they passed 34 yrs ago, even though judges have complained the law hurts those it was passed to help
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(4) Tom
8:04PM Jul 17th 2009
LMAO at all these stupid colored people. 100 years of what? Nothing.
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(4) Albert33d
9:41PM Jul 17th 2009
Tom
Go back to the Jim Crow era where your ignorant ass belong. Colored???. The only thing that is colored is when your redneck ass look in a mirror. Who turns red as a beet when embarrassed. Who turnes blue when they are dead. Or orange as a cooked crab when you lay out in the sun too long trying to get "bronzed" or dark. We don't color. African Americans come in various hues, shades and complexions. Think of something more original you moron
Go back to the Jim Crow era where your ignorant ass belong. Colored???. The only thing that is colored is when your redneck ass look in a mirror. Who turns red as a beet when embarrassed. Who turnes blue when they are dead. Or orange as a cooked crab when you lay out in the sun too long trying to get "bronzed" or dark. We don't color. African Americans come in various hues, shades and complexions. Think of something more original you moron
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(0)
(0) cynthia bates
10:29PM Jul 17th 2009
Tom, Your education system really failed you. I hope it is not too late for you children.
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(0) janellenixon360
1:36AM Jul 18th 2009
Funny thing is that I am BLACk/colored, not african american and truly believe that 100 years of NAACP has causednothing more than more separation into the world. Blacks (personally speaking) are some of the most ignorant individuals especially some of those in the NAACP that think they speak for all "African Americans". The post before mine shows it. You dont fight ignorance with ignorance you fight ignorance with intelligence love and self respect and that was told to me from someone who went through THE REAL STRUGGLE AND PICKED COTTON AS YOUNG PERSON.
AFRICAN AMERICANS need to open their eyes and open their hearts and quit blaming their failure in life on everyone but themselves. Look at whats around you and fix the problem...The problem starts from within.
AFRICAN AMERICANS need to open their eyes and open their hearts and quit blaming their failure in life on everyone but themselves. Look at whats around you and fix the problem...The problem starts from within.
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(3) SHAWNEE
4:07AM Jul 18th 2009
A BLACK MAN RUNS YOUR COUNTRY THUS YOUR LIFE! NOW LAUGH AT THAT!!! THAT'S FUNNY ISN'T IT? LMAO!!!
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(1) tms36
8:07PM Jul 17th 2009
Sure odd that our Great Black President sounded like the Reverened J. Wright... That is not how he sounds when he talks to us...HMMMM!
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