Reverend reynolds from baltimore, maryland. Let us bow our heads in humble adoration unto the landlord. Our lord of ancient past, shelters from our storms. We are grateful as we gather together here today under the sovereignty of your grace. Your masterful handiwork has caused us to witness your splendor and magnificent glory once again. We come before you to welcome you to this place, we give you the respect and knowledge you as our creator and provider it is you who are omnipresent everywhere oh, lord. It is you who are open flip tent or powerful oh, lord. You are all knowing lord. As we begin this luncheon, we ask that you would guide our thoughts and our actions so that we may have a successful meeting. Help us to accomplish our goals and aspirations today. While we display your character, because it is you who has made us and not we ourselves, we are the sheep of your pasture. Oh, landlord, we pray that you grant us your divine wisdom as we move forward in a steadfast hope with favor and success. We pray these things in the mighty name of jesus christ our lord. Let everyone say amen. Thank you. On a visit to president lyndon b. Johnsons family ranch. Clarence mitchell wanted to visit the grave of the former president. Someone offered to drive him there, but he wanted to walk. He wanted the time to remember his old friend. We are here today because Clarence Mitchell lived the kind of life that is well worth taking the time to remember. For the last 31 years we have held this luncheon toll honor the pillars of our profession for the dedicated service. We do so again today by celebrating the life of a man who taught us to be fierce in the fight. But generous in victory. To be undown theed by our failings and to get up and fight the fight again. Clarence m. Mitchell jr. Clarence mitchell knew this to be true every morning when he went to work. The fight for the first pieces of civil rights legislation since reconstruction, were no easy undertaking. As the Naacps Washington Bureau chief, mr. Mitchell spent so much time in congress, that they called him the 101st senator. He had come a long way from boxing practice at the baltimore ymca. But the shamrock kid secured victories for the legislative bedrock on which our current civil rights stand. His wisdom made him renowned. And his determination made him exceptional but he always knew that his greatest legacy was his family. From his equally accomplished and formidable wife, who was the first black female attorney in maryland, to his sons, dr. Keefer Jackson Mitchell, who both served as advocates in their respective fields in medicine and politics. Awe we are so grateful to this remarkable family. For all that they have done for baltimore, maryland and the advancement for the rates of people of color everywhere. Today we are joined by the decendents and relatives of clarence m. Mitchell jr. And we ask for you to stand and be recognized for your presence and for your continued work to advance the cause of social equality for all. Please stand. [ applause ] we will at some point in this program be joined by our interim president derek johnson. When he comes we will have him make remarks and greetings. For right now, im going to welcome our first speaker from our congressional delegation. We always have a robust delegation brought by mr. Hillary shelton, whos the current head of the Washington Bureau of the naacp. At this time i would like to welcome our first speaker from the congressional delegation he is u. S. Representative for louisianas second Congressional District and chair of the congressional black caucus. Shown a staunch commitment to the people of louisiana. And to communities of color everywhere and has never hesitated to speak up in the face of prejudice. Please welcome the honorable cedric richmond. [ applause ] all right, you have to be flexible at the luncheon. Representing the congressional black caucus, were going to have bobby scott. Thank you bradford. Cedrics schedule got messed up, hes going to be here, but he couldnt be here at this luncheon, i want to thank you for your kind introduction. And in a situation like this, im reminded about what the great political philosopher yogi berra once said when he was given a great award. He looked at the audience and said, i want to thank everybody here who made today necessary. Clarence mitchell was the 101st senator, as has already been pointed out, and this luncheon points out the relevance of the naacp. People keep talking about the relevance, the relevance can be seen right here in this room. Thats because the lawyers in this room dont just complain, they sue people, if they dont like the laws, they change the laws, just like Clarence Mitchell and hillary slelten are doing right now. Youre talking about all of the issues being discussed in the cles. And we look forward to working with eric holder. I worked with him in the clinton administration, where he was the point person on my campaign along with many of you to free kemba smith from her draconian sentence. And because of eric holder, she was releases after six years, not the 24 years that she was given. And with the obama administration, a long way into fixing the 101 crack powder cocaine disparity, and not only helped pass the law to help fix it, we didnt completely fix it, but we made a lot of progress, but administratively applying that retroactively, so many people were getting out, not having to serve the whole 25 or 30, some of them only served 10 years or so, so they were getting out, they did that administratively, not waiting for congress to get around to doing what it should have done a long time ago. Thank you for your hard work and i want to thank the Mitchell FamilyClarence Mitchell, hillary shelton, i want to thank the lawyers here today for making this lunch necessary. Thank you very much. Thank you very much, congressman scott. Lets see if we can get this one right. Next we have in order to put on an event like this, we need generous corporate sponsors. So at this time we will hear greetings from our corporate sponsors. First from Marriott International. Id like to welcome murial perkins chavis, Vice President of workforce effectiveness and diversity. Please welcome. Thank you very much. Its a pleasure to truly be here this afternoon as the Vice PresidentWorkforce Engagement and Global Diversity for Marriott International. I am so delighted to have the opportunity for us to co sponsor this event again. You know, i think about it, and i said to myself, its 2017. And we enjoy many freedoms that those before us have fought for. But guess what . Theres still a lot more work that has to be done. While its kind of hard to believe that we continue to talk about or have dialogue about inequality, injustice and the need to recognize civil rights, the naacp clearly remains steadfast and immovable voice as we move forward fighting for the from the forefront, in terms of Generating Positive change. I presented to this group before. And i have to tell you, i am impressed in terms of the Amazing Group of people, in terms of who you are and how you have each positively shaped and influenced our world. You give us inspiration you focus on what matters now and beyond. And more importantly, youre truly working hard to champion important causes, shine a light on the issues that really need attention. And help us to truly focus on and promote the value of inclusion, we continue to need your voice and challenge and support issues that are important for africanamericans. And actually, i think everyone here should give themselves a round of applause. Ive talked in the past about the collective power to help make decisions that impact our communities. This years convention theme, steadfast and immovable says it all. It says it all because now more than ever before, we need to truly activate our resources, to continue to make a difference in our communities, in our industry s and realistically, across the globe. The work of the naacp and clarence m. Mitchell jr. Fight for civil rights, voting righs s fair and equitable education and housing has had a tremendous impact. If you think about it, for more than 100 years the naacp has been an add vow indicate for change, helping to create a better america a better world in actuali actuality. Its through the level of influence that its helped to create opportunities, equality and hope among communities, families and people of all backgrounds. Marriott has had a longstanding history of welcoming all and serving as an Inclusive Company that we stand very proud for and excel in terms of our associates. Our suppliers. And our owners and are committed to providing a world of opportunity for anybody. Regardless of who you are. We were the First Hospitality company to create an inclusion program. We have also a proven track record in terms of programs that encourage diverse suppliers, owners and franchisees to ultimately partner with our company. Weve spent over 5 billion in terms of divorce suppliers, we partnered with diverse suppliers and women, when it comes to building. Marriott brangds around the world, and marriott has plans, actually, to have over 1500 diverse owned hotels. That could be you. So we truly do encourage individuals to become suppliers as well as diverse owners. So one of the things that we have done or many of you may not know, our portfolio has really expanded over this past year. In september, Marriott International acquired Starwood Hotels and added brands such as w, sheraton, aloft and saint ridges, just to name a few, globally across the world. Although we are growing, guess what, it doesnt change our belief that everyone who enters our hotels should feel the sense of belonging and that they are part of our organization, such that they are valued and respected. So whether you are an employee, whether you are a supplier, or whether you are an owner, a customer, we truly appreciate the contributions and the business that you provide to us. So please feel free to stay at our hotels at any time, and we welcome you. Thanks again for this opportunity. Thank you very much, miss perkins chav its. Next we welcome to the posed yum mr. John ridge way, corporate manager of Financial Services from toyota motors, north america. Is mr. Ridge way here . Good afternoon, i was thinking back to my college days when we didnt have cds and 8 tracks and stuff like that. Im going to give you the 45 record version of this, so we can move on to lunch. My names john ridge way, the Corporate Executive for toyota Financial Services. And i have oversight for the eastern Financial Center located in maryland. Many of our team members live right here in the charm city. Its an honor to be here today and bring greetings on behalf of the team members at toyota, and our dealers as well as our Strategic Partners across the nation. Were pleased to support the 108th Naacp National conference. You know, in walking through the exhibits today, and participating in all the different lunches, i saw so much pride in the past, and passion for bright future. Im personally proud to be here, because im a lifetime member through the encouragement of reverend deer when i was in dupage, illinois in 1992. Having said that, i went on to become a lifetime member again since moving to baltimore. Let me share something with you. It was through his encouragement that i became involved with the naacp. I havent seen her for 23 years one honor we have today is that shes at the table with us enjoying lunch. So were blessed. At toyota were more than a car company. Our focus today is mobility. Whether its to help people move across town or economic barriers. Through reliable safe affordable and efficient transportation, we can improve access to job opportunities. Last night at the chairmans reception, toyota is a team. My definition of being built for others means, we encourage our associates to give back to the community 77 of our team members have volunteered for some type of charitable contributi contribution, some type of give back to the community through mentoring, through internships through tutoring we also support nonprofit organizations like the boys and girls club of america. Girl scouts and other organizations opinion we feel its our responsibility to make lives better in the community we serve. Again last night, chairman Michael Turner said lets get fired up and ready to go. And i ask you to support that in helping the naacp being steadfast and immovable. Thank you for allowing me to be here, and i hope you enjoy the rest of the luncheon and the rest of the conference. Thank you, mr. Ridge way. Next from tmobile. Welcome to the podium marie dixon, Vice President of federal and external affairs. Please welcome miss silla dixon. Good afternoon. And good afternoon to all the dignitaries in the room. The naacp family, and good afternoon to the family of clarence m. Mitchell, jr. Im glad to be with you all in this room today. Im truly glad to be here at the 108th annual naacp conference. This is kind of special for me because my family is from baltimore, and this is the place that my mother was born and raised. This is very special for me. Im humbled to be here for this luncheon to honor the legacy of clarence m. Mitchell, jr. Especially with his family here. I am a beneficiary of the rights that the naacp family fought so hard. I can tell you my legacy, my grand parents were postal workers here, for the Baltimore City post office, and my mother was the first generation to go to college. Right now, i would like to tell you on behalf of tmobil we are proud to be a partner of the naacp and sponsor the 108th convention, with the theme steadfast and immoveable. Tmobils values are very much in alignment with the naacps as we believe that all of our employees, regardless of race, sexual preference, gender, religion, help us break down the rules of the wireless industry. We know that what makes us the most successful and Fastest GrowingWireless Company is our incredibly diverse workforce. More than 50 of our workforce is from communities of color. It means we keep up with keep coming up with innovative ideas that bush our business forward and create an environment where our 51,000 person team feels they have opportunities and are empowered. So on behalf of tmobil, we would like to say this to the naacp family, thank you for doing what youre doing and keeping up the fight. And we look forward to partnering with you in the future. Thank you. Thanks very much. At this point id like to just point out that the Clarence Mitchell jr. Memorial luncheon each year is organized by a very dedicated group of people who work with me in the Legal Department at the naacp. At the same time that were organizing the luncheon, were also organizing a continuing Legal Education program which is taking place over the past two days, and also, doing the day to day work of the naacp which does not stop because we have a convention coming up, it keeps on coming. At this time, i would like to ask all of the employees. All of the employees of the naacp, you guys are going to get your day in the sun, just hold on for a second. Those of you who the full time employees of the naacp, could you please stand up and take a bow . We actually have more than one person working in the Legal Department at the naacp. I think the rest of them must be out in the hallway, but they feel the spirit. All right. And right now, if you dont mind, if you indulge me, i would like to take another point of personal privilege. The job of general counsel of the naacp is the most rewarding job ive had in my life, but it is a challenging job. There are Conference Calls that go late into the night. There are Conference Calls that start early in the morning, am i right, mr. Turner. Theres a lot of work that goes into it, i want to acknowledge my incredible wife who is sitting here at table 12, and my daughters andy and zoe, please wave your hands around so people can see who you are. She is going to kill me for that. Okay. Now, its time for awards, so i would like to invite to the podium someone who has been at the naacp for a short number of months. That has already made an incredible impact as deputy general council. Please welcome my friend and colleague. General et leward. Thank you, brad. Today we celebrate the accomplishments of two fearless women endowed with indispensable quality qualities of grit and persistence. Who in the face of adversity, refused to concede to demands of silence. Marilyn mows by is the first recipient of the award. As the states attorney for baltimore and the lead prosecutor in the freddie gray trials, states attorney moseby emerged as the voice for the principles of justice and transparency. Amidst one of the greatest social upheavals this city has experienced. States attorney mows by has been fighting for Racial Justice since her youth, and committed her life to reconciling the great divide between her chosen profession and the community. Her Top Priorities are not only prosecuting violent offenders, shes equally committed to building the Publics Trust in Law Enforcement and running a transparent administration. Shes a woman of uncompromising ideals and strength. Its a sincere honor to present Marilyn Moseby with the naacp champions of justice award for 2017. Thank you. Congratulations. Good afternoon. Thank you deputy lord for your kind and generous words i have to t