What You Need To Know About Boston’s NAACP National Convention

The Boston NAACP National Convention is underway. The convention is here for the first time since 1982. It will be based in the Seaport. The theme of the 114th annual convention is Thriving Together.

The NAACP National Convention is an empowering and immersive experience held each year to celebrate our community's collective power. The Convention attracts innovative change-makers, thought-leaders, entrepreneurs, scholars, entertainers, influencers, and creatives to network and exchange ideas. (From the NAACP )

The NAACP events officially kick off at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center’s Hall A on Friday. It will feature The Hub Block Party, featuring music from DJ Jazzy Jeff and Dorchester's own DJ WhySham. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu will welcome the crowd at 5:30 p.m., and the music will start at 6 p.m. The event will also feature: food, art installations, giveaways, prizes, and other activities, and that will go until 9pm.

Delegates to the 114th convention in Boston are scheduled to vote on draft resolutions on policy issues. And those resolutions will guide the NAACP's more than 2,000 local branches. Here are 10 of the resolutions that will be voted on according to the Bay State Banner. 

• Endorse debt-free college solutions

• Call for a federal ethics law for Supreme Court justices

• Reaffirm support for anti-racism education in K-12 schools

• Condemn anti-Black efforts to distort and redefine the specific term “woke”

• Call for restricting federal funding to jurisdictions that erode voting rights

• Threaten lawsuits against bans on diversity, equity and inclusion programs

• Urge monitoring of disproportionate disciplinary action against Black police officers

• Threaten lawsuits against makers of hair relaxers associated with uterine cancer

• Support continuing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

• Pledge to fight discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community

The convention will offer events open to the public. They include the Hub, described as "The center of all Black community engagement in Boston."

Boston NAACP President Tanisha Sullivan said this year will mark the first time the convention has had a space like the Hub.

“One hundred fourteen years and we’re trying a few things out new, and this is one of them,” Sullivan said. “Being very intentional about that experience, Friday, Saturday and Sunday being free open to the public — open to everybody, not just Black people, everybody — and really centering the Black experience, which is really important. That’s what we’re about as an association.” (Bay State Banner)

The Hub is free and open to the public.

Dates: Friday, July 28 – Sunday, July 30, 2023

Times:
Friday: 2:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M.
Saturday: 11:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M.
Sunday: 12:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M.

Location: Boston Convention and Exhibition Center – Hall A
415 Summer Street. | Boston, MA 02210

There's an extensive list of speakers, including: Vice President Kamala Harris, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, Hillary Clinton, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Robert Kraft, Meek Mill, and so many more. You can check out the complete list HERE.

Check out the ACT-SO Competition. From the NAACP website: Each year, high school students across the country start a journey to sharpen their skills through the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO). From visual arts and business to performing and culinary arts, participants work with community-based volunteers for a year to develop projects and performances. The experience culminates in local and national events where students compete for scholarships and other rewards.

It's being called New England's largest gospel music event -  23rd Annual GospelFest.  It takes place at Leader Bank Pavilion from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Hosted by Grammy-nominated musician MAJOR, it will include performances by gospel singers Fred Hammond and Kierra “Kiki” Sheard as well as the Mayor’s Gospel Choir. Doors open at 3 p.m. There’s an interfaith prayer session before the show from 4-4:30 p.m.