Trump Is First President In 116 Years To Not Be Invited To NAACP Convention

Donald Trump has become the first sitting president not to be invited to the NAACP national convention. It is the first time in 116 years that the current U.S. presidnet has not been invited.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson announced the news at a press conference on Monday, saying the President is not invited to next month’s national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the decision has “nothing to do with political party.”

“Our mission is to advance civil rights, and the current president has made clear that his mission is to eliminate civil rights,” Johnson said, per the Associated Press.

In April, the NAACP sued Donald Trump

The lawsuit followed after Trump ordered the Department of Education to withhold federal money from schools that refuse to end DEI programs. In its lawsuit, the NAACP stated that the department is failing to give equal opportunity to Black students.

Presidents Regan and Bush were invited to past NAACP national conventions

The NAACP invited President Ronald Reagan despite the backlash he faced for using the term “welfare queen.” Reagan coined the term to refer to people who are misusing federal aid, but many Americans saw it as a racist term targeting Black women.

However, in his speech at the 1981 NAACP convention in Denver, Reagan denounced white supremacists, saying his administration would stand up against “those who, by violence or intimidation, would attempt to deny Americans their constitutional rights.”

In 2006, the NAACP invited President George W. Bush to the convention despite the criticism he received for mishandling Hurricane Katrina. Bush, who faced wide backlash at the time for what many saw as neglecting New Orleans’ Black residents, was chosen as one of the speakers at the convention.