DETROIT
Julian Bond wants onlookers to understand that when the NAACP symbolically buries the “N” word on Monday the effort will be led by the younger members of the venerable civil rights organization.
“Seven young people are on our board of directors, and they are spearheading this initiative,” said Bond, the group’s chairman. “This is the continuation of a long fight against the denigration of African-Americans in popular culture. If it’s someone black or someone white, it’s equally wrong.”
The “N” word burial highlights the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s 98th annual convention, which kicks off Saturday and runs through Thursday. It’s the seventh time the convention has been held in Detroit.
More than 8,000 people are expected to attend. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will speak at a dinner Tuesday, and a presidential candidates’ forum will be held Thursday.
The Baltimore-based civil rights organization first announced the “N” word burial in April. Delegates and supporters plan to march about a quarter-mile from Cobo Hall to Hart Plaza downtown where a eulogy will be given.
The issue was given a national forum in April when talk show host Don Imus directed racially derogatory comments at black members of the Rutgers University women’s basketball team.
