The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is bringing their national convention to San Antonio this July, but don’t expect to see President Donald Trump in town, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson says they annually invite the sitting president to their meeting and, for years, they have all accepted, dating back before President George H.W. Bush. This year, he says President Trump declined.
"He has never shown up at an African American event through his entire tenure as president nor the entire time he ran for office," he tells Newsradio 1200 WOAI.
Speaking in San Antonio, Johnson minced no words, calling the president a racist.
"Racism is about power and control, and this president is trying to leverage all of his power and control to maintain second class citizens of several communities."
Johnson says, when president Trump used an expletive to describe African nations as dirty outdoor toilets, it hit a nerve with many people of color, who can trace their lineage back to the continent.
"Any time you make such statements and then you act on those statements through public policy it shows your words and actions line up to who you are."
The actions are a reference to the president's travel ban and the DACA program.Some ten thousand NAACP members are set to arrive in San Antonio this July for their annual meeting, making it one of the biggest events this year.
Johnson says closing the racial inequality gap will be the centerpiece of the conference, which comes on the local chapter's 100th birthday.