Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will speak Monday, July 18 to the 107th annual national convention of the NAACP at the Duke Energy Convention Center.
The NAACP's national office announced the visit in a press release this morning; and Clinton's Ohio campaign confirmed that is it on her schedule.
"In every presidential election year, we invite each of the candidates to address our convention; and we are delighted to have Secretary Clinton join us,'' NAACP chairman Roslyn M. Brock said in the press release.
The theme of this year's annual convention, which was last held in Cincinnati in 2008, is "Our Lives Matter, Our Votes Count."
It comes in the wake of violent incidents that have increased racial tension in the nation – the shooting deaths of two unarmed African-American men at the hands of police in Minneapolis and Baton Rouge and the fatal shooting of five police officers in Dallas.
"In these violent and horrifying times, when a new generation is waking to call for police accountability, economic and educational equality and protecting the right to vote for all people, this election marks a significant moral moment for America,'' NAACP president and CEO Cornell William Brooks said in the press release. "We look forward to hearing Secretary Clinton's priorities and plans to advance issues of social justice."
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has been invited to address the national convention, but there is no word yet on whether he will attend. The NAACP convention runs from July 16 through July 20. The Republican National Convention overlaps part of that period, starting on Monday, July 18 and running through July 21.
