San Francisco Chronicle - July 18, 2006
Leslie Fulbright, lfulbright@sfchronicle.com.

Bruce Gordon, a former corporate executive who was elected president of the nation's largest civil rights organization last summer, told the 5,000 members gathered for the 97th national convention that his first year exposed him to "the best of times and the worst of times."

He lamented the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina just days after he took office, and the economic disparities the storm exposed. He said there are far too many people living in poverty "still waiting to enjoy the fruits of civil rights struggles."

Gordon praised the House of Representatives for voting last week to renew three provisions of the Voting Rights Act that are set to expire next year and urged the Senate and President Bush to do the same. He said he would talk about the act every day of the convention and take a caravan of buses to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to lobby the Senate on its behalf.

"We've got work to do this week," Gordon said. "We are here to ensure the House passage of the Voting Rights Act not only gets celebrated, but that the Senate does its job and the president does his job."

The theme of this year's convention is "Voting Our Values, Valuing Our Votes." NAACP National Board of Directors Chairman Julian Bond, a lifelong civil rights activist, also emphasized the importance of the vote during a speech Sunday. "Black Americans fought and died to force their way into the political process and still face barriers in participating," he said.

Bond recounted a recent meeting with Bush, during which he invited him to make the mile trip from the White House to the convention.

He then harshly criticized the administration, slamming it for the war in Iraq, for abusing civil liberties, using the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as an excuse, and implementing an economic policy that gives to the rich and takes from the poor.

"They have continued an assault on our civil liberties and civil rights, orchestrated a mass transfer of wealth from the bottom to the top, increased poverty every year they've been in office, created dangerous deficits, substituted religion for science, ignored global warming and wrecked environmental protections," he said of the current administration.

It was unknown whether Bush would take Bond up on his offer, but conventioneers were buzzing with the possibility that he might make an appearance. The president has declined invitations to address the group throughout his presidency.

Speaking to the convention, Gordon said he would like the president to show up but urged NAACP members to focus on more important issues, like state politics, Congress and voter registration.

"The Georgia voter ID law was passed by the state, not the president," he said, referring to a law -- temporarily blocked by a state court -- that would require Georgia voters to show photo identification at the polls.

"Gov. (Arnold) Schwarzenegger killed Stan 'Tookie' Williams, not the president. The governor of Pennsylvania has the power to give clemency to Mumia Abu-Jamal, not the president."

He said the examples reflect the need for African Americans to get to the polls. He challenged members to work to register five new voters each before the November election.

Gordon also spoke on the touchy subject of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS -- a disease often considered a taboo topic in the black community -- and the impact the disease has had on African Americans. For the first time, the NAACP is offering free on-site counseling and testing.

"We are not going to kill ourselves," he told attendees, who grew silent when he spoke of the epidemic. "We have got to deal with this issue. If any one of you walks out of here without getting tested, you have failed to do your duty to this community and to this organization."

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