Strong Words

"Preaching to the choir": Joe Biden asks the NAACP to imagine a Mitt Romneynightmare America

Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the 2012 NAACP Annual Convention on Thursdaymorning.
Photo by Whitney Radley
The crowd received Biden warmly, and didn't want him to leave the stage as hewrapped up his keynote address.
Photo by Whitney Radley
Biden criticized the partisan game that current Republicans play.
Photo by Whitney Radley
He noted the progress that the current administration has made on healthcare,education, foreign relations and more.
Photo by Whitney Radley

Vice President Joe Biden's keynote at the 2012 Annual Convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on Thursday morning was expected to serve as a sort of rebuttal to Mitt Romney's Wednesday speech, in which the presumptive GOP presidential nominee appeared to fail in his attempt to convince attendees of his suitability to serve the African-American community.

But the crowd filling the George R. Brown Convention Center didn't seem to need much persuading to be on the side of the incumbent administration.

Following an hour-long prelude of gospel music and a brief video message from President Barack Obama at the White House, Biden began his address by introducing himself as a lifetime NAACP member and as a longtime politician educated by civil rights activists Louis L. Redding and Rev. Maurice McCrackin.

"There's a lot more to say," Biden said, "but this is preaching to the choir."

Touting the tough decisions that Obama has made over his first term in office, as well as the president's unswerving dedication to his own character and convictions, Biden acknowledged that, in the upcoming election, "The candidates for president have fundamentally different visions for the future of this country."

He went on to discuss those differences in detail — with the crowd alternately cheering and bursting out into impassioned hisses and boos in response to policy contrasts from education to energy, war and taxes, women's rights and the polarizing health care debate.

"Did you think we'd be fighting these battles again?" Biden asked.

He noted that the government has already combated these issues and has made progress — in a bipartisan manner — over the past several decades. He criticized the inflexibility of the modern-day Republican party and its members' unwillingness to compromise.

"There's a lot more to say," Biden said near the end of his 25-minute speech, "but this is preaching to the choir."

Appealing for the attendees to imagine the state of the country under a Romney presidency and asking for the electorate to fight for "the heart and soul of America" in the upcoming election, Biden closed by quoting scripture.

"What you do unto the least of my brethren, you do unto me," he said to thunderous applause and a standing ovation.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”

Strong Words

"Preaching to the choir": Joe Biden asks the NAACP to imagine a Mitt Romneynightmare America

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

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