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Dr. James Bowles and his wife Jane listen to President Barack Obama speak at last month’s NAACP national convention in New York city.

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A sizeable contingent of Goochland residents attended last month’s national NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) convention in New York City, including for the first time members of the Youth Branch of the Goochland County NAACP.

The weeklong convention, celebrating the 100th birthday of the organization, was held July 11 –16 in New York City.

“It was a great conference, said Goochland NAACP president Wendy Hobbs. “There were some real heavy hitters among the speakers.”

President Barack Obama addressed the convention on the final day.

“That was the high point,” said Jane Bowles, one of the 15 adults who attended. The youth group sent 12 members to the convention.

Her husband, Dr. James Bowles Sr., 88, attended his first national convention, after working with the local branch for more than 50 years.

“It was just never convenient to go before,” said Bowles.

Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors, was presented the NAACP Spingarn Medal at the evening meeting of the last day of the convention and gave a rousing address about the accomplishments of the organization and the challenges it still faces.

“When the NAACP wages the battle against inequity, we expand democracy for all,” said Bond in his address, as he retraced some of the milestones in the NAACP’s history, such as the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision of 1954 that led to public school integration.

“It was sort of a review for me,” said Dr. Bowles. “I’ve lived through many of those experiences. If we forget our history we are doomed to repeat it – our youth need to know.”

Jane Bowles agreed. “We need to tell the children about the history of civil rights.”

Bond also noted that the NAACP is “the only civil rights organization that reserves seven seats on its Board of Directors for young people under 25 elected by young people under 25.”

Hobbs also said the high point of the convention for Goochlanders was sending a youth group for the first time.

“They got to meet other young people from all over the country,” said Hobbs.

Goochland High School senior Damion Carroll, president of the Youth Branch of the NAACP, led the Goochland youth group.

Carroll and the other members of the youth group attended a special youth banquet Thursday evening, where they heard keynote speaker Dr. Cornell West, Professor at the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University address youth issues.

West encouraged the youth to take leadership roles and be active in their local communities, said Carroll.

“It showed that youth can make a difference in the community,” said Carroll, who noted that it is sometimes easier for young people to reach out to each other.

Besides the numerous speakers, workshops and exhibits and the group did some sightseeing. A trip to the Ellis Island Immigration Museum was particularly educational, said Hobbs.

The youth trip was financed through a series of car washes, bake sales and other fundraisers, said Hobbs.

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