BALTIMORE, May 6 (UPI) -- The chairman of the NAACP said Thursday he wants to move the headquarters of the nation's oldest civil rights organization from Baltimore to Washington.
Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said in an interview with the Baltimore Sun that although the organization has not bought property in Washington, a move is all but definite.
Mayor Martin O'Malley pledged to fight to keep the NAACP in Baltimore, and others claimed that losing the organization would be a blow to city residents who take pride in having NAACP in their backyard, the newspaper said.
Bond, who lives in Washington, has made no secret over the years of his desire to move the organization closer to the center of national politics and activism.
City officials say NAACP leaders have previously expressed interest in moving elsewhere in Baltimore. M.J. "Jay" Brodie, president of the Baltimore Development Corp., said the city would work to address the NAACP's needs.
In making their case, city leaders noted Baltimore's role in the civil rights movement and the history the city has had with the NAACP.
Bond said he would listen to the city's best offer.
