“Good evening, everybody.  You noticed that I am not Michael Bloomberg.  I bring his greetings.  He unfortunately sat for three hours on the tarmac at LaGuardia until they told him that he would not be able to take off and I’m glad that I was not the person to tell him that he could not go where he wanted to go.  But fortunately I came here earlier today to be with him and I am so privileged to send his greetings to all of you, to wish you a very successful convention.  And I just wanted to share one small comment that he would’ve shared with you in his remarks tonight. 

“His mom is going to be 100 years old next year and so it’s a- yeah may we all live such a long and healthy life- and so it’s a coincidence that she was born in the same year as the NAACP and a coincidence that they share the- well the NAACP of course born in New York City and so the Mayor is incredibly proud to be bringing your hundredth convention to New York City next year under the vivacious and inspiring leadership of Hazel Dukes, our NAACP regional director in New York.

“And the mayor shared a story from his youth, when they sat at the dinner at night and his dad was writing out a check to the NAACP and he asked his father, ‘Why- why the NAACP?’  And his father said to him, ‘An injustice against one is an injustice against all and we all have to fight in the battle because we all benefit from that fight and that- there should be justice among all of us.’  And so I think that’s a wonderful spirit that this is- this work is for all of us and it was part of that effort around our battle on economic injustice that brought me here today and brought us. 

“The Mayor chose to present in Cincinnati the work that we’re doing around eradicating poverty in New York City and creating a measure of poverty that improves the federal measure that systematically undercounts those who are poor in our country in an effort to bring a true light on the face of poverty now so that we can fight it better.  And so it is my great pride to bring you his greetings, to congratulate the NAACP under the leadership of Julian Bond and to wish you great success here in Cincinnati.  I only hope that New York City can be as warm and gracious and beautiful and may the sun shine in the way that Cincinnati has brought on your convention here today.  Thank you.”