Baltimore to host NAACP convention in 2017 (but not 2016)

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will bring its annual convention to Baltimore in 2017, the organization announced Wednesday.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake joined national and local NAACP representatives in making the announcement at the group's national headquarters in Northwest Baltimore. The 2017 meeting will be held at the Baltimore Convention Center on July 22-26.

The NAACP's Baltimore chapter previously announced the annual meeting would come to town in 2016, but the national organization backpedaled from that announcement in July.

"There's certain times you can't take 'no' for an answer," Rawlings-Blake said.

The NAACP has yet to announce the host city for 2016, but it is leaning toward Cincinnati for July 9-12 of that year. The NAACP is scheduled to visit Cincinnati next week. Pending a successful site visit, the organization's convention planning committee will recommend the group take its meeting to Cincinnati within the next three weeks, said Leon Russell, vice chairman of the NAACP's board of directors.

Typically the NAACP only announces its future meeting destinations one at a time; Russell said this year was unusual in that regard.

"We had one of the best bid presentations I think we have ever had," he said. "We thought that Baltimore's bid was such a great bid we could not outright reject it."

It was not the first time Baltimore has thrown its hat in the ring to host the convention, but Visit Baltimore CEO Tom Noonan said winning the bid has been tough because the bookings are only made two years in advance.

"That's a really short-term booking for any city," Noonan said.

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