DETROIT -- While the NAACP has been fighting for the rights of African-Americans for nearly a century, it's important to fight for Muslim Americans in a post-9/11 world, the nation's Homeland Security chief told guests at the 98th NAACP national convention Tuesday evening.
"(We've) fought too long and too hard for the rights of African-Americans to turn our backs on the rights of Muslim Americans," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told a crowd of more than 600 at the Armed Services and Veteran Affairs awards dinner at the Renaissance Marriott Hotel.
The NAACP convention continues today with a report expected on the "State of Young Black America." Etan Thomas of the Washington Wizards also is scheduled to speak at a youth leadership luncheon. A gospel extravanga, featuring CeCe Winans, is on tap for tonight.
At the dinner last night, more than a dozen people were honored for their work in fostering equality in the military. The ceremonies Tuesday were hosted in part by the U.S. Coast Guard.
In his keynote speech, Chertoff recounted stories of heroic rescues by African-Americans serving in the Coast Guard in the 1800s as well as work by the Coast Guard to save thousands of African-Americans during Hurricane Katrina.
"Whether they were black or white, male or female, they wore the Coast Guard blue and orange and those were the only colors that mattered," he said.
U.S. Navy Capt. Yolanda Reagans said she enjoyed Chertoff's stories about the Coast Guard.
"(I liked) the way he tied together the contributions of African-Americans and the Coast Guard," said Reagans, special assistant to the chief of naval operations for diversity.
Earlier Tuesday, Chertoff met with religious leaders at a Dearborn mosque.
Chertoff became secretary of Homeland Security in 2005.
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