NAACP branch invites GOP boss

Attempting to reach a different -- and hopefully wider -- audience for its annual fundraiser, the Chesterfield branch of the NAACP has lined up a nationally prominent speaker for its September Freedom Fund Banquet.

The choice isn't sitting well with some state leaders, in large part because it could put the group at risk of compromising its nonprofit status.

Michael Steele, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the Sept. 5 Chesterfield event. The former lieutenant governor of Maryland, Steele is the first black head of the RNC.

"Because we've had a hard time raising funds, we're trying to appeal to a different audience, in age and race," said Michelle Collins-Robinson, the organizer of the event and a branch member since December. "We sent out invitations to a multitude of people."

She said she also sent an invitation to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, who is chairman of the Democratic National Committee, but she has not received a commitment from him. Kaine did not receive the invitation until yesterday, according to a member of his staff, and has yet to decide whether to attend.

"I think they may have handed him something [yesterday], but I sent an e-mail April 21," Collins-Robinson said.

King Salim Khalfani, executive director of the Virginia NAACP, said the Chesterfield branch can't stage an event with just a Republican.

"We're a nonpartisan organization," he said. "If they can't get [Kaine], they have to get someone comparable."

The Internal Revenue Service investigated the national NAACP in 2004 after then-Chairman Julian Bond criticized President George W. Bush's policies in a speech. The group didn't lose its status, but the message was clear, said Khalfani: "You can't be partisan."

Collins-Robinson said Steele will not discuss politics during his speech. "When he spoke at the national convention [in July in New York], he had a message for everyone," she said.

When asked if she thought it possible to separate Steele from politics, she said she didn't know.

Khalfani said he was not surprised at the selection of Steele.

"There's a Republican takeover of the Chesterfield branch," he said. "But that's fine. They can join and become members, too. As long as they pursue a civil-rights agenda, that's all we ask."

Collins-Robinson scoffed at the notion of a takeover.

"I worked [to elect] Kaine, to elect Obama," she said. "I still have the sticker on my car. But I try to be open-minded."

Tickets for the Chesterfield event are $50, and Collins-Robinson said she is hoping to sell at least 500.

Contact Zachary Reid at (804) 775-8179 or .