NAACP Centennial

Floor Speech

Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate the NAACP on this, its 100th anniversary.

One hundred years ago, 60 men and women answered a call to promote social equality in this country. This effort brought together a diverse group of prominent Americans, including Kentucky native William English Walling, who signed a manifesto forming the NAACP. They chose February 12 as their founding date to honor the birth of Abraham Lincoln.

Since then, the NAACP has recognized the contributions of Americans who have made strides in eliminating prejudice.

This year, the NAACP will honor Kentucky native Muhammad Ali for a lifetime of contributions. When I was growing up in Louisville, I went to DuPont Manual High School. A young man who was then named Cassius Clay was in the same grade at Central High School. He was the most well known teenager in town by far. We all knew him as the local Golden Gloves champ.

His spirit of hard work and efforts to improve his community are being rightly honored by the NAACP this year, and Kentucky is proud that one of its own is being honored this week.

So to all at the NAACP, congratulations on this centennial. It is an opportunity to reflect on the efforts and accomplishments of those who worked so hard over the past century to advance your founding goals.

I yield the floor.

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