Keller @ Large: Boston NAACP President Tanisha Sullivan On Convention Postponement
BOSTON (CBS) – Tanisha Sullivan, the president of the Boston chapter of the NAACP, told WBZ-TV said that while she is disappointed the national convention was postponed due to coronavirus, she said the work of the organization continues.
Sullivan announced recently that the convention would not be held in July as planned. It was scheduled to be the first time the national NAACP convention was held in Boston since 1982.
"From a local standpoint we have maintained for over a year that the work and the preparation for this convention should not just be about the event, but that it should really be about serving as a catalyst for the systemic work that needs to happen in our community everyone day," said Sullivan. "If anything, this virus has really laid bare for all of us the reality that there are systemic racial inequities that put communities of color in harm's way, even from a virus that would otherwise be considered indiscriminate."
Keller @ Large: Part 2
Sullivan said the future of the convention in Boston will depend on response to the coronavirus pandemic. She pointed out the majority of people who would attend the conference are people particularly vulnerable to the virus.
"Those are the Americans unfortunately who are being disproportionally impacted by this virus from a severity standpoint – hospitality rates and mortality rates," said Sullivan, referring to black residents and older people.
"The reality is that how we proceed will really be contingent on how well we do nationally with respect to the response to this virus," Sullivan added.
