National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People

The Internal Revenue Service has informed the NAACP that it is investigating whether the civil rights organization improperly "intervened in a political campaign" when it posted on its website a speech by Chairman Julian Bond that condemned the Bush administration's policies. The IRS sent a letter Oct. 8, less than a month before Tuesday's election, to the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People informing it of the investigation. The group has until Nov. 5 to respond.

In his first address to civil rights leaders since his election, President Obama on Thursday marked the centennial of the NAACP by paying tribute to its history and calling on activists to tackle modern-day problems. Obama told the organization's members that only because of their forerunners could he stand before them as both an African American and president of the United States.

Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., the newly installed executive director of the NAACP, pledged to revitalize the 84-year-old civil rights organization with new spirit and new money. And he said the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, hobbled in the past by infighting, has unified. "This time there's no fighting, no division," Chavis said at the opening of the group's national convention in Indianapolis. "Our ranks are together."

The NAACP sued subsidiaries of two major banks Friday for allegedly steering African American borrowers unfairly into costly subprime mortgages. The suits -- against Wells Fargo Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage Inc., owned by Wells Fargo & Co., and against HSBC Mortgage Corp. (USA) and HSBC Bank USA, owned by HSBC Holdings -- arrive at a time when the housing crisis and soaring unemployment already are causing disproportionate harm in black neighborhoods, leaders of the rights group said.

President Bush declined an invitation to speak at the NAACP's annual convention, the group said. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People expects more than 8,000 people to attend the convention opening Saturday. Democratic challenger John F. Kerry accepted an invitation to speak next Thursday, the final day of the convention, the NAACP said. Bush spoke at the 2000 NAACP convention in Baltimore when he was a candidate.

Celebrating the freeing of American slaves during the Civil War, about 200 people attended the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's annual Jubilee Day celebration Sunday at Pacoima's New Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ. Members of the community gathered to remember the struggles slaves endured for hundreds of years and the hardships faced by today's less fortunate. Jubilee Day, the recognition of President Abraham Lincoln's Jan.

The leadership of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People gave independent presidential candidate Ross Perot a decidedly chilly reception Saturday. Perot, in his first foray before a black audience, appeared to offend a large number of delegates to the NAACP national convention here by seeming to equate the nation's crime and drug problems with the black community.

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John F. Kerry asked the Department of Justice on Friday to investigate what prompted a tax audit of the NAACP. The civil rights organization disclosed this week that it was under investigation by the Internal Revenue Service because it posted a speech by Chairman Julian Bond on its website that was critical of the Bush administration.

As the NAACP struggles to recover from the acrimonious firing of its executive director, the organization is confronting unexpected financial questions that are overshadowing the immediate need to find new leadership and a new direction. If the challenges are not met soon, according to NAACP supporters and outside experts, the financial burdens will snowball and threaten the existence of the organization itself.

Members of the NAACP's Los Angeles chapter Tuesday called on the Board of Supervisors to investigate allegations that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has discriminated against African American job applicants.

On the heels of issuing a critical report about Hollywood's minority hiring, the president of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People threatened the entertainment industry Thursday with unspecified political actions if it did not increase diversity. "At a time when the country is excited about the election of the first African American president in U.S.

John McCain ventured into solid Barack Obama territory Wednesday when he addressed the 99th annual convention of the country's venerable civil rights organization, the NAACP. He did not draw the crowd that greeted his Democratic opponent here Monday, where, as one organization official put it, "even the overflow room had an overflow room," but McCain received a respectful reception for his speech on education reform.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Thursday decried the lack of outrage over gun violence in urban America and criticized President Bush's decision to commute the prison sentence of former White House aide I. Lewis Scooter" Libby while black men serve time for lesser crimes. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.

The NAACP sued a dozen mortgage lenders Wednesday, claiming that the companies discriminated against blacks by steering them into higher-interest, sub-prime loans while giving more favorable loan terms to white borrowers. The lawsuit, which seeks class-action status, was filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. It demands a court order that would bar the lenders from discriminating against blacks and compel them to comply with fair housing and credit laws.

Board Chairman Julian Bond said Sunday that the NAACP was needed now more than ever because the Bush administration had done little to support blacks. On such issues as the administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, the war in Iraq and immigration, Bush has seen his presidency questioned, Bond said in his address at the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People's convention in Detroit.

Bruce S. Gordon, a longtime business executive who took the helm of the NAACP less than two years ago, surprised followers of the civil rights organization Sunday night by announcing his resignation as president and chief executive. Reached by telephone at his Manhattan home Sunday night, Gordon, 61, said he stepped down because he was at odds with the organization's board about his role as chief executive.

Compton's struggling school district came in for more criticism Monday when the local chapter of the NAACP called for parents to keep their children out of classes at McNair Elementary School because the campus' buildings allegedly are too dangerous. At a news conference near the school, Walter Goodin, the president of the Compton chapter of the National Assn.

In a generous but solid round of recognition for the accomplishments of black theater artists in Los Angeles, members of the NAACP's legitimate theater committee have announced a total of 93 nominees in 20 categories for the groups's second annual Theatre Awards. Topping the list in a close race were George C.

Laurence Fishburne and Erica Tazel were among the performers honored at the 17th annual Beverly Hills/Hollywood NAACP Theatre Awards, which pay tribute to local productions featuring African American themes and performers. Fishburne was named best actor in an Equity production for his performance in "Without Walls" at the Mark Taper Forum in downtown L.A.

The 64-person board of directors of the NAACP failed to finalize details on moving its main offices from Baltimore to Washington. The group did not say when the issue might be taken up again. The move is being considered to put NAACP officials nearer government officials, lobbyists and media outlets. The 98-year-old nonprofit has been based in Baltimore since 1986, when it moved from New York.