BY RODDIE A. BURRIS
The State.com
rburris@thestate.com
Former President Bill Clinton will be in Columbia on May 18 to speak to the state NAACP, the same week the first-in-the-South Republican presidential debate will be held here.
Clinton will be guest speaker at the NAACP’s annual Freedom Fund Celebration, the civil rights organization’s principal fundraiser.
It is unclear whether his wife, presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., will attend.
Lonnie Randolph, state NAACP president, said his organization invited Bill Clinton to speak two of the past four years, but scheduling conflicts prevented that from happening.
In this politically charged year, things changed.
“This is a big deal for the NAACP,” Randolph said, aware of the political significance of a Clinton visit to South Carolina but also dismissing it.
“We don’t do anything to highlight any party. This is a big event for the NAACP.”
Bill Clinton is among the world’s most recognizable figures. He is also one of the nation’s most prolific fundraisers and is very popular among Democratic voters — especially African-Americans, who comprise the party’s most reliable voting bloc.
Continued
No comments:
Post a Comment