President Obama will visit NYC to attend NAACP's Centennial

Obama and first lady Michelle Obama traveled to the city to catch a Broadway show for a "date night" promise he made to his wife during the campaign.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined NAACP president Ben Jealous at Cooper Union in Manhattan on Tuesday to announce Obama's visit and unveil a plaque honoring the organization. The plaque will hang in the great hall of Cooper Union.

Cooper Union was the site of the organization's first conference.

Obama is the keynote speaker on the final day of the conference. Other speakers include former Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the Rev. Al Sharpton and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.

Political officials scheduled to attend the event include Gov. David Paterson, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) and Bloomberg.

The conference, which is expected to attract more than 10,000 and generate $7.5 million, is a platform for the national organization to unveil several new programs and its legislative agenda for the upcoming year. The multiracial organization is the country's oldest and largest civil rights group.

The NAACP continues to advocate for civil rights, conduct voter mobilization and monitor equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.

"We gathered here in Cooper Union 100 years ago last month to launch a movement that would transform . . . the entire world," Jealous said.