NAACP convention showcases change in race relations

The convention is expected to boost the city’s economy by $4 million to $5 million.

CINCINNATI (AP) — City leaders welcomed Saturday’s opening of the NAACP convention as a showcase for Cincinnati’s racial progress.

The nation’s largest civil rights organization is holding its 99th convention, and will hear from presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain in the week ahead.

Besides an expected economic boost of $4 million to $5 million from more than 8,000 people here for the convention, Cincinnati is looking forward to drawing new national attention after it became a focal point for racial tension when riots erupted in 2001.

“One of the reasons that there was such an effort to get the NAACP convention to Cincinnati was because we wanted the opportunity to talk about Cincinnati today versus Cincinnati in 2001,” said Mayor Mark Mallory, who became the city’s first directly elected black mayor in 2005.

“Do we still have progress to make? We do. Have we made progress? We absolutely have,” Mallory told reporters.

He cited improved community-police relations, more economic activity and new housing in the city, and a halt in the city’s population loss in recent years. Simmering tensions were sparked into riots seven years ago by the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man who ran from a white police officer trying to make an arrest, thrusting Cincinnati into a harsh national spotlight.

“Now the images that they’re going to see are going to come from this national convention and will be positive,” Mallory said.

Christopher Smitherman, head of the NAACP’s Cincinnati chapter, said there still needs to be improvement in areas from minority business opportunities to infant mortality rates.

“There is open communication,” he said. “People are at least having dialogue around the issues.”

Officials with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said among reasons for holding the convention here was to reward the work being done to make improvements.

Saturday’s focus was on health issues, and the NAACP has also offered financial advice sessions here.

Board Chairman Julian Bond highlights Sunday evening’s session as keynote speaker, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg also will speak Sunday.

The NAACP’s 100th convention will be in New York next year, and officials said New York Gov. David Paterson and U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., will be here Thursday. They also promised a surprise guest from New York, but NAACP spokesman Richard McIntire said he had no confirmation on speculation it would be Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.