NAACP convention

Michael Curry stood before a packed conference hall at the NAACP Convention on Saturday and delivered a stirring speech on the history of Black activism in Boston.

When the NAACP opened its 114th convention in Boston last week, many visitors’ first taste of the festivities came from one of six aspiring culinarians. The Hub served samples of their meals on Friday. A day earlier, they waged a multi-hour cook-off for an NAACP national youth honor.

The NAACP ACT-SO program saw 512 qualified entrants from 89 NAACP branches competing at the convention in Boston. Medalists in 33 categories were recognized on July 29.

More than 60 vendors promoted their products and services at the NAACP convention in Boston, drawing long lines and lots of praise.

Besides civil rights and civic engagement, the national NAACP convention had on its agenda environmental justice and artificial intelligence, which were featured in topical sessions and draft resolutions presented to delegates.

The NAACP national convention in Boston — its first in the city in 40 years — was celebrated as a point of pride for leaders of local branches of the organization.

As participants descended on the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center for the NAACP’s national convention, delegates and leaders saw the gathering as a needed chance to push back against white supremacy and conservative policies that they said pose a threat to Black communities.

As the NAACP’s national convention comes to Boston, teens from across the country will show off their skills in arts and science in the organization’s youth competition. The Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics, or ACT-SO, lets young people compete for college scholarships and other prizes.

As we welcome the NAACP national convention to our city, I am joyful because America’s oldest civil rights group has chosen to come back to Boston and gather in one of the country’s oldest civil rights cities.

In 2020, plans to bring the national NAACP convention back to Boston for the first time in almost 40 years were scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as the city prepares to host the 114th annual NAACP convention, local leaders within the organization are excited to pick up where they left off three years ago.

Much has changed in Boston since the NAACP last held its national convention in the city, in 1982. Back then, the city had a population that was majority white, a City Council with Bruce Bolling as its only member of color and a mayor whose last name matched his race, Kevin White.

During this year’s virtual NAACP convention, Mayor Martin Walsh has announced that Boston will host the 114th NAACP National convention in 2023. After this year’s convention was forced online by pandemic protocol, the organization will make a second attempt at hosting with its historic Boston branch.