Obama Honors Civil Rights Pioneers at NAACP Convention

BY Michael Saul,
DAILY NEWS POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

President Obama, in a rousing address to the NAACP Thursday night, paid tribute to the civil rights pioneers who made his historic presidency possible and declared the legacy of discrimination "must not stand."

"Because ordinary people made the civil rights movement their own, I made a trip to Springfield [Ill.] a couple years ago - where Lincoln once lived, and race riots once raged - and began the journey that has led me here tonight as the 44th President of the United States of America," Obama said to thunderous applause from the adoring crowd.

"I'm here to say thank you to those pioneers and thank you to the NAACP," he said.

His gratitude was reflected in a speech delivered with a passion and soaring oratory not seen or heard since last year's campaign. He recalled his visit just last week to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, where slaves were assembled and put on ships for the Americas.

"I was reminded of all the pain and all the hardships, all the injustices and all the indignities on the voyage from slavery to freedom," Obama said.

"But I was also reminded of something else. I was reminded that no matter how bitter the rod or how stony the road, we have persevered."

Though he has sat in the Oval Office now for nearly six months, the triumphant appearance of the nation's first black President before the 100th anniversary convention of the NAACP made for a memorable evening.

"Our chests were bursting out in front of us with the pride to see the son of the civil rights struggle stand in this auditorium as the leader of the free world," said NAACP vice chair Roslyn Brock. Aged civil rights veterans were in tears.

Rose Mayes, 65, a delegate from California, likened it to "an out-of-body experience" because she never thought she'd live long enough to see an African-American in the Oval Office.

But the euphoria of his election has also given way to a sense of restlessness by some civil rights activists who feel Obama has not moved their causes of today to the top of his agenda.

The President declared "there's probably never been less discrimination in America than there is today." Still, he said, "make no mistake: the pain of discrimination is still felt in America."

NAACP President Benjamin Jealous said he agreed that discrimination is at a historic low - "and I agree with him that the fight isn't done yet."

Thelma James, a delegate from Wallace, N.C., who called this years's convention the most special of the 31 she has attended, said, "There is still a great deal of work to do."

The President said the "steepest barriers" to equality come from the legacy of past centuries of discrimination, he said.

He pointed to a list of his national policy agenda initiatives - economic development, health care, energy and education - as issues that need to be addressed to create equality.

On education, Obama said the state of our schools is not an African-American problem, but an American problem.

"There are overcrowded classrooms, crumbling schools, and corridors of shame in America filled with poor children - black, brown, and white alike," he said.

Obama stressed personal responsibility and the importance of a nurturing family.

"Yes, government must be a force for equality. But ultimately, if we are to be true to our past, then we also have to seize our own destiny, each and every day," he said - dishing out such advice as putting away the video games, helping kids with homework and getting them to bed early.

"That mother of mine gave me love, she pushed me, and cared about my education, she took no lip and taught me right from wrong," Obama told the crowd. "Because of her, I had a chance to make the most of my abilities."

He went on: "I want all the other Barack Obamas out there, and all the other Michelle Obamas out there, to have that same chance - the chance that my mother gave me; that my education gave me, that the United States of America gave me."

Sheri Ezell, 45, a delegate from Houma, La., said Obama as President has helped inspire black girls and boys.

"They can see themselves as governors, lieutenant governors, senators and then all the way up to the presidency," she said.

Before heading back to Washington, Obama headlined a private Democratic Party fund-raiser at the Waldorf expected to raise as much as $1.4 million from fat-cat donors paying up to $30,400 apiece.

• More coverage from the New York Daily News.