There were many congrats and kudos floating around at Getty House, the residence of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Well-wishers roamed the lawn on Saturday, snacking, chatting and hobnobbing with such luminaries as NAACP president and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous, chairman of the national board of directors Roslyn M. Brock and local politicians and other guests.
It was somewhat of a testimony to an institution that, though birthed on the front lines of America’s persistent racial turmoil, has lived to enjoy the fruit of its toils–at least to a large extent.
“I just want to welcome the NAACP to Los Angeles once again, the second time here in my home,” said Mayor Villaraigosa. “This is an opportunity to celebrate an organization that has done so much to make America a more perfect union. They without question have been at the vanguard of the Civil Rights Movement, an organization that speaks for a greater America, and I couldn’t be prouder to welcome them here to the city of Los Angeles.”
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas noted that the organization’s presence in Los Angeles was “clearly history-making. Los Angeles is an important venue in which to have this convention,” he said.
Police Chief Charlie Beck said, “having the NAACP here in Los Angeles for its 102nd anniversary is an amazing tribute, not only to our city but also the relationship we’ve built. I can’t thank the organization enough for choosing Los Angeles.”
Eighth District Councilman Bernard Parks said “the things they have done for our country and for the world in human rights … they deserve this kind of attention….”
Princeton Professor Cornel West proclaimed that he “… wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for the NAACP.” Then, with a guffaw, he told the cameraman interviewer, “you wouldn’t be behind that camera either.”
Television host Tavis Smiley welcomed the NAACP to the City of Angels. “We’re delighted to have you in our town,” he said.
“I’m excited about the NAACP having their 102nd anniversary here in California, specifically here in Los Angeles, especially when you think about many of the trailblazers that were part of the NAACP…,” commented 51st District Assemblyman Steven Bradford.
Others present included Judge Greg Mathis, National Board Member Willis Edwards and Our Weekly Publisher and CEO Natalie Cole.
The Rev. James Lawson was the only person who expressed conflicted emotions at the reception.
“Well, my feelings are mixed and ambiguous,” he said. “On the one side the NAACP ought to have 5 million members in the United States, because it has been the historic, civil rights, justice, human rights organization of our country.
The NAACP’s fifth Los Angeles convention–1928, 1942, 1949, 1990 and 2011–ends tonight. There’s a fairly good chance it will return.
