Special to The Mississippi Link
from NNPA
LOS ANGELES – The National Newspaper Publisher’s Association (NNPA) Thursday, Sept. 10, announced that it will not hold its mid-winter conference in South Carolina scheduled for January 2010 and is joining the NAACP economic boycott of the state that has been in effect since July 1999 when the South Carolina NAACP called for it as a protest of the flag atop the State House and inside the House and Senate chambers.
The boycott, still in effect, calls on groups and individuals to avoid traveling to the state for business or pleasure and discouraged residents from visiting South Carolina beaches or patronizing restaurants and motels. This announcement comes on the heels of South Carolina Republican Representative Joe Wilson’s outburst of “you lie!” that broke decorum during President Barack Obama’s address to the Joint Houses of Congress on health care reform Wednesday (Sept. 9, 2009) evening.
“As African-American newspaper publishers we stand in solidarity with the NAACP and fully support the economic boycott of South Carolina,” stated NNPA Chairman Danny J. Bakewell Sr. “Rep. Wilson’s remarks were racist, disrespectful, and a disingenuous violation—not only of President Obama—but to the institution of the presidency and only solidified our position and the importance in not spending Black dollars where Black people are not respected. The continued public and blatant disrespect of President Barack Obama by members of Congress will not be rewarded with our dollars nor will a state that continues to uphold America’s shameful past by flying the Confederate flag.”
The NNPA is currently considering North Carolina in lieu of its decision to boycott South Carolina. The group joins a host of other organizations and businesses that refuse to hold conventions or meetings in South Carolina.
About National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA)
The National Newspaper Publishers Association, also known as the Black Press of America, is a 69-year-old federation of more than 200 Black community newspapers from across the United States. www.nnpa.org
About Danny J. Bakewell Sr.
Danny J. Bakewell Sr. is the Chairman of the National Newspaper Publisher’s Association. He is also the executive publisher of the Los Angeles Sentinel Newspaper, the largest and most read Black newspaper west of the Mississippi and owner of WBOK radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. Bakewell is the CEO of The Bakewell Company, one of the largest African-American owned development companies in the United States and is responsible for the development of over 1 million square feet of retail space in predominantly African-American communities including Compton and South Central Los Angeles. Inducted into the Civil Rights Walk of Fame at the MLK Center in Atlanta, Georgia, Bakewell is the recipient of numerous awards for his community service and philanthropy including: the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award, 2 Time SCLC Drum Major for Service Award Winner, 3 Time NAACP Image Award Winner, 2005 Trumpet Award, Congressional Black Caucus Adam Clayton Powell Award, and the A. Phillip Randolph Award.
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