“A dog and pony show”: Chris Christie’s NAACP appearance comes under fire

Under fire for ignoring African Americans' concerns, the governor delivers a controversial keynote address

Published October 13, 2014 2:12PM (EDT)

  (AP/Mark Humphrey)
(AP/Mark Humphrey)

Several delegates to the New Jersey NAACP’s state conference this weekend expressed anger over Gov. Chris Christie’s keynote address at the event, charging that his appearance amounted to little more than political showmanship.

The Huffington Post’s Sam Levine reports that the likely 2016 presidential candidate used his address to tout his support for policies like bail reform and ending the practice of requiring job applicants to list their criminal histories. But in an open letter protesting Christie’s address, NAACP Newark chapter president Deborah Gregory blasted the governor for avoiding “any type of dialogue” with the NAACP.

“To have him serve as keynote speaker is to simply listen without question,” Gregory wrote.

Arguing that Christie should have convened a meeting with NAACP branch presidents before making a headline-grabbing speech before the convention, Gregory said that Christie’s keynote amounted to “a dog and pony show.”

Others aired their grievances with Christie administration policies they said had harmed African Americans in the state.

"He's abolished our school district. He's disenfranchised 77,000 people of color," delegate Darnell Hardwick of Camden told The Star-Ledger newspaper, referring to the state takeover of Camden’s schools in 2013. “We no longer can vote for our school board, like all the other cities ... So, Chris Christie? As keynote speaker? Everything he's done is completely contrary to what our organization has fought for."

Fellow delegate Colandus Francis sounded a similar note, saying that the governor has “decimated our police department, taken over our school district, eliminated our board of education."

The anger over Christie’s appearance is the latest sign that the New Jersey governor, whose approval rating has plummeted in the wake of the Bridgegate scandal and a mounting firestorm over the state’s troubled pension fund, is finding little love these days. (Save from the likes of conservative columnist George Will.) The New York Times reported Monday that despite his assiduous efforts to court social conservatives ahead of his expected 2016 run for president, Christie is still viewed with suspicion by much of the GOP’s conservative base.


By Luke Brinker

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2016 Elections African Americans Chris Christie Naacp New Jersey Race