NAACP Opens National Convention In Philadelphia This Weekend
By Pat Loeb
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The NAACP meets in Philadelphia, over the next five days, at what the group's President calls "an extraordinary moment."
The national convention will address issues including the Confederate flag to police brutality.
Featured speakers include former President Bill Clinton, Attorney General Loretta Lynch and President Barack Obama. CEO Cornell Brooks expects a significant speech.
"We're in a time of heightened sensitivity to issues of race. I think, for the President, he's looking long-term at his legacy, what does he leave? He has to make a mark in that area, he has to say something special in that area," said Brooks.
The agenda is packed with issues that were once the concern of the NAACP almost exclusively but that have gained national attention. But Brooks says it was the group's groundwork that led to breakthroughs, such as rapid decline of the Confederate flag.