Barack Obama and the NAACP
Presidential hopeful Barack Obama was at center stage last night, speaking at the NAACP's national conference in Cincinnati. The speech comes amid tough times: Rev. Jesse Jackson, a black leader and presidential hopeful in 1984 and 1988, was caught on tape criticizing the senator, and the organization’s relevance has been questioned as it ages.
Obama was talking to an audience that was well aware of the dust-up over comments made by Jackson, in which he accused Obama of talking down to black people. For the most part, Obama gave a standard stump speech where he covered issues that affect all Americans: healthcare, education, and the economy.
"The Takeaway's" Adaora Udoji and John Hockenberry talk to Patrik Henry Bass, senior editor at "Essence Magazine," about the significance of Obama's speech in front of the NAACP.
Bass says the speech was, "… huge, because it's showing a sea change within the NAACP, which has been very, very reluctant change for many, many years … that type of message about personal responsibility … wouldn't have been heard ten years ago."
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