Obama to Address NAACP During Centennial Convention

President Barack Obama will talk to the NAACP on Thursday night about the economy, education and health care, and will also seek to quietly inspire thousands of members of the nation's oldest civil rights organization.

White House aides have described the tone of the speech that Obama will give at a sold-out NAACP banquet as restrained. It is the first speech linked to race that Obama has made since he took office, and NAACP leaders have billed it as his "first address to black America" as president.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs shied away from that description Wednesday, telling reporters: "I think the first speech to black America, the first speech to white America, the first speech to America was the inaugural address."