NAACP: Message to Us All, Vote, Make a Choice
Gregg Riley, Colonel (Ret.) U.S. Army, pulled few punches in his keynote address to this year’s Annual Freedom Fund Banquet held last month by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People St. Mary’s County.
Asked to speak on “The Power of One… VOTE,” Mr. Riley said the word “vote” meant “choice” to him.
He spoke about the significant challenges facing the African American community which is threatened by the loss of a generation to violence and lack of “parenthood.”
These threats, he said, were the result of making the wrong choices instead of the right ones. And though his remarks were particularly pointed at the African American community he made clear that all of America was harmed by the poor choices that have brought such devastation to so many of the nation’s communities.
The NAACP is a nonpartisan organization founded to advance equality and justice across the nation. The organization does not endorse candidates but is deeply committed to voting rights.
“As it has always been,” Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP wrote to the local chapter in honor of its annual banquet, “the platform … for every … issue we care about and advocate for is our access to the ballot box; our voting rights.”
This year, Mr. Riley told the 200 attendees at last month’s banquet, it has never been more important.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyA1IDdHMuE]
