NAACP membership surges as young adults join in Chicago
The NAACP is seeing a membership resurgence as Chicago hosts its 117th National Convention, with younger adults and interracial newcomers joining amid rising social justice concerns. Leaders also announced closer ties with unions and a major get-out-the-vote push ahead of the November midterms.
Thousands gathered Monday at McCormick Place for the five-day meeting, which runs through Wednesday and carries the theme "We The People." Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson told attendees that democracy depends on people willing to fight for it, protect it, and expand it, ABC7 Chicago reported.
Key Takeaways
- Chicago is hosting the NAACP's 117th National Convention at McCormick Place through Wednesday.
- Local leaders say membership growth includes younger adults and more interracial joiners.
- NAACP leaders pledged closer cooperation with unions on workers' rights and civil rights.
- The group launched a $20 million get-out-the-vote drive aimed at millions of Black voters before the midterms.
Why is NAACP membership rising in Chicago right now?
Rev. Michael Nabors of the NAACP Evanston North Shore branch said new members are notably interracial, with white and other communities joining alongside African Americans. Garland Pruitt of Oklahoma City linked the surge to pressure at both national and local levels, saying people are facing real problems and feel a greater need to organize.
Janet Mason of Hawaii welcomed younger adults stepping up to keep the organization's mission alive. Calvin Bell, a 24-year-old Northwestern Ph.D. student judging the ACT-SO youth competition, said students use social media to amplify social issues and bring awareness to them.
How are unions and the NAACP planning to work together?
At a labor-focused session on July 20, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and board chair Leon Russell announced closer collaboration with the union movement. Johnson urged allies to "keep our eyes on the same prize" and said cooperation must go beyond collective bargaining, including fights over how pension dollars and investments affect communities of color.
Russell pressed branches to connect with local union leaders and stop talking and start organizing. Rank-and-file speakers also discussed threats such as artificial intelligence displacing jobs—an issue tracked across Future Tech & AI Wonders—as Johnson noted that as practices evolve technologically, civil rights groups must evolve too.
What is the NAACP's midterm get-out-the-vote plan?
The NAACP announced a $20 million Get Out The Vote campaign ahead of the November 3 midterms. According to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, the effort aims to recruit 20,000 volunteers and mobilize about 6.5 million Black voters across 14 states and 33 congressional districts.
Russell cited a target of reaching millions who are not voting. Johnson framed turnout as a way to defend healthcare, housing, and education gains. The campaign follows recent NAACP legal action around voting access, including a blocked U.S. Postal Service limit on certain mail-in ballots.
Wesley Scully, president of the Michigan City branch, attended with his 6-year-old grandson and said he is fighting for his grandchildren's future jobs and freedom. Together, the convention's membership energy, labor partnership, and voter drive signal a multi-front push heading into Election Day.