All Roads Lead to El Paso: NAACP Texas 89th Annual State Convention Set for Oct. 1–3
AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas NAACP will convene its 89th Annual State Convention Oct. 1–3, 2026, at the Hotel Paso Del Norte in El Paso, bringing together members, community leaders, partners, young people, veterans and advocates from across the state.
Held under the theme, “Our Fight Is Your Fight: United We Build the Beloved Community,” the convention will focus on advancing civil rights and equity in Texas through work on voting rights, education, health, economic inclusion and historic preservation. The
gathering also will serve as the organization’s principal annual fundraiser, helping support Texas NAACP programming, advocacy and community engagement throughout the year.
“The Texas NAACP’s annual convention is where we take stock of the challenges facing our communities, strengthen the partnerships that sustain this movement and prepare for the work ahead,” said Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP. “At a time when fundamental rights are being tested across Texas and the nation, we are coming together in El Paso with a clear purpose: to protect those rights and expand opportunity for every person.”
“Our theme, ‘Our Fight Is Your Fight,’ speaks to the shared stakes of this moment,” Bledsoe said. “The Beloved Community is not an abstract ideal. It is built when people of every background stand together for equal access to the ballot, quality public education, economic opportunity, safe communities and justice under the law.”
The convention will feature a keynote address by The Honorable Leon W. Russell, chair of the NAACP National Board of Directors. Russell has served on the national board since 1990 in several leadership roles, including assistant secretary, chair of the Convention Planning Committee and vice chair. He was elected chair in 2017 after decades of service to the NAACP and human-rights advocacy. Russell will headline the Texas Heroes Banquet Friday evening.
Russell previously served as president of the NAACP Florida State Conference of Branches and spent 35 years in public service as director of the Office of Human Rights for Pinellas County, Florida. In that role, he helped administer affirmative-action and human-rights ordinances supporting equal employment opportunity and a diverse workforce.
“The El Paso Branch is proud to welcome NAACP members, partners and advocates from every region of Texas to our city,” said Carl Dwyer, president of the NAACP El Paso Branch. “El Paso’s history, culture and position at the border make it a powerful setting for conversations about civil rights, human dignity and the work required to build stronger, more inclusive
communities.”
He added: “We are honored to host Chairman Russell and convention participants for a weekend of learning, fellowship and action,” Dwyer said. “We look forward to sharing El Paso’s hospitality while helping advance a statewide agenda rooted in justice, opportunity and respect for all people.”
The convention also will feature Kristen Clarke, general counsel of the NAACP and former U.S. assistant attorney general for civil rights, as the speaker for the President’s Luncheon on Friday, Oct. 2.
Clarke served as the 19th assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice from 2021 through 2025, where she led national enforcement of federal civil-rights laws. Under her leadership, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division established enforcement records in hate-crimes and law-enforcement-misconduct cases, while advancing work involving redlining, environmental justice, jail and prison reform, education, fair housing and voting rights.
During her tenure, Clarke also supervised successful prosecutions involving defendants connected to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Tyre Nichols, among others. She is a frequent national speaker on civil and constitutional rights, race and democracy and has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
“Kristen Clarke has devoted her career to translating the promise of civil rights into meaningful protections for people and communities,” Bledsoe said. “Her leadership on voting rights, fair housing, hate crimes and equal justice makes her voice especially important at this moment, when the protections generations fought to secure require renewed vigilance and action.”
Additional featured speakers and participants will include:
Gabriel Y. Rosales, Texas state director of the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Oni K. Blair, executive director of the ACLU of Texas.
Ron Stallworth, best-selling author of Black Klansman and The Gangs of Zion.
Dr. Will Guzman, historian and author of Civil Rights in the Borderlands, Emmett J. Scott: Power Broker of the Tuskegee Machine and other works on civil-rights history.
Bishop James Dixon, president of the NAACP Houston Branch.
Barbara Lee, mayor of Oakland and former U.S. representative from California (invited, but not confirmed) to speak at the Opening Plenary session on Friday morning. Lee is an El Paso native who spent her early years in the city.
The event will include programming for active-duty military members and veterans, as well as youth and college participants. A Friday Women Veterans Program will be moderated by Doris DeRamus, El Paso-based second vice president and membership chair and will feature Melissa Harcrow of the Texas Veterans Commission.
Texas NAACP branches and units also will have access to training led by National NAACP staff, including sessions on organizational compliance, grant opportunities through the National NAACP and financial-literacy training.
Texas NAACP leaders said the convention will emphasize intergenerational organizing and the role of young people in sustaining the movement for civil rights and political power.
“The future of the civil-rights movement depends on young people having real opportunities to organize, learn and lead, said Skylahr Mimms, president of the Texas Youth & College Division. “This convention will bring together young leaders who are ready to use their voices, talents and lived experiences to strengthen their communities and shape Texas’ future.”
El Paso was selected not only as the convention host city, but also for its central place in Texas civil-rights history. The city is closely connected to the legacy of Dr. Lawrence Aaron Nixon, whose legal challenges to Texas’ white-primary system helped establish voting-rights protections for Black Texans.
“Today’s fight for voting rights is about more than access to the ballot,” Bledsoe said. “It is about defending the hard-won gains of African American voters against Supreme Court decisions and other efforts that threaten to weaken representation and roll back progress for our communities.
“Disenfranchisement in one corner of Texas threatens democracy in every corner of the state,” Bledsoe said. “We cannot build a fair society while people are denied an equal voice in it.”
For additional convention information and updates, go to Texas-naacp.org/convention
Convention Information
What: 89th Annual Texas NAACP State Convention
Theme: “Our Fight Is Your Fight: United We Build the Beloved Community”
When: Oct. 1–3, 2026
Where: Hotel Paso Del Norte, El Paso, Texas
For more information, sponsorship opportunities or media inquiries, contact:
Lonzo Kerr
Texas NAACP lkerrnaacp@gmail.com
(512) 985-9151
