Last night the first African-American President of the United States, Barack Obama, addressed the NAACP convention. His speech was a poignant capstone for the organization's hundred-year history. Farai Chideya, guest host of The Takeaway, hosted a special broadcast from the anniversary. She was joined by Patrik Henry Bass, Takeaway contributor and editor at Essence magazine, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an associate professor of politics and African American studies at Princeton University, and Michael Meyers the president and executive director of the New York Civil Rights Coalition.

(Click through for the full advance transcript of President Obama's speech

As the NAACP wrapped up the celebration of its 100-year history, President Barack Obama stopped by to address the crowd. Joining us with their reactions to the president's speech and the legacy of the NAACP are Geraldine Sam, the first African-American female mayor of LaMarque, Texas, Reihan Salam, a fellow at the New American Foundation, and Farai Chideya, friend of The Takeaway.

If you missed President Obama's speech, you can watch it in its entirety below.

The words “comic convention” can conjure up images of full grown men dressed as Jedi knights angling for a chance to get an autograph from William Shatner. While that might have been the case a dozen years ago, now Comic Con is the pop culture event of the year. Next week The 'Con opens in San Diego, but it's been sold out for weeks. Luckily, Jeff Yang, the Asian Pop columnist for the SF Chronicle and Secret Identities: The Asian American Superhero Anthology found himself a ticket. Also joining the conversation is Elisabeth Rappe, blogger for Cinematical.com.

Here's the trailer for Astro Boy:

Back in March, St. Cloud, Minnesota was excited. Vice President Joe Biden was in town to announce that the town would be receiving an influx of money from the stimulus plan. The money would be spent on much-needed infrastructure improvements and transportation projects. Now that excitement has been replaced by questions, mainly: is the stimulus money actually creating jobs in St. Cloud? Helping The Takeaway understand what’s happening on the ground are Minnesota Public Radio reporter Ambar Espinoza and The Takeaway's Political Director Andrea Bernstein.

Our friends at Pro Publica, the independent investigative organization, are tracking the stimulus in St. Cloud closely. Read their story, Primed for a Stimulus Ride, St. Cloud Wonders When the Bus Will Arrive.

A series of explosions killed at least nine people and injured at least 48 in Jakarta, Indonesia. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the bomb blasts in the capital's luxury hotels. Indonesia suffered a number of bomb attacks — mainly linked to the militant group Jemaah Islamiah— in the first years of the century, but has been relatively peaceful since 2005. Joining The Takeaway from Jakarta with more of the story is Daniel Ziv, a filmmaker and the author of "Jakarta, Inside Out."

For accounts from an eyewitness to the bombings, watch the video below.

The Takeaway takes a look back at the week's news and also peers into the future. With us this morning on our reporters' roundtable are Julie Mason, White House Correspondent, The Washington Examiner, to talk about the Obama administration; Mark Quinn, the host of South Carolina ETV and Radio’s Public Affairs Program The Big Picture to talk about Governor Sanford, and Erika Bolstad, reporter for Alaska Daily News in Washington, D.C. to talk about Governor Palin.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor's testimony in front of the Senate's judicial committee wrapped up yesterday. Democrats plan a final Senate vote to confirm Sotomayor in early August. The Takeaway's Todd Zwillich, our Washington correspondent, has been covering (and tweeting) every moment of the confirmation hearings for the nation's first Hispanic Justice for the U.S. Supreme Court; he joins us with the week's highlights.

Watch Frank Ricci's questions to Sotomayor in the video below.

President Obama campaigned in New Jersey yesterday, but not for himself. He was out supporting New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, who faces a tough re-election bid. Come November, Corzine will be the only incumbent Democratic governor in the nation to face voters and the results could be a barometer of the nation's approval of the president. WNYC reporter Bob Hennelly was there in New Jersey.

Forensic scientists have begun sorting the remains of hundreds of cadavers that were taken from their graves at Burr Oak Cemetery in the Chicago suburb of Alsip, Illinois. Four workers have been arrested for the alleged grave selling plot. Officials now estimate that close to 300 graves at the traditionally-black cemetery were tampered with. Family members of people buried there are trying to learn whether their loved ones' resting places were desecrated. Terry Dean of Oak Park, Illinois, has several family members buried at Burr Oak. He joins The Takeaway with his story. Also joining the conversation is Gary Laderman, author of Rest in Peace: A Cultural History of Death and the Funeral Home in Twentieth-Century America and Sacred Matters: Celebrity Worship, Sexual Ecstasies, The Living Dead and Other Signs of Religious Life in the United States.

The budget crisis in California is becoming critical. The state is still paying its debt in IOUs, but major banks are refusing to accept them. Late yesterday, the state legislature was poised to finally pass a budget and close its $26 billion deficit, but the negotiations stalled over the governor's plan to suspend a law on school funding. Schools are likely to be one of the biggest casualties from this budget crisis. On The Takeaway with more of the story is KPCC Reporter Patricia Nazario.

Two bomb blasts rocked the central business district of Jakarta, Indonesia, this morning. The explosions hit two American-owned hotels, killing eight people and injuring dozens more. Jim Della-Giacoma, South East Asia Project Director in Jakarta for the International Crisis Group, joins The Takeaway with more details.

A nerdy-boy-meets-beautiful-girl flick, "500 Days of Summer" invites you into a love story set in Los Angeles. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Daschanel play the lead roles in this first feature film for director Marc Webb. The Takeaway is joined by David Edelstein, chief film critic for New York Magazine, to talk about this summer not-quite-romance.

Yesterday the NAACP wrapped up its Centennial Convention. The Takeaway has been covering the convention all week, from DJ Spooky’s artistic take on the African-America experience to President Obama’s address last night. Today, as part of the “after the party” conversation, we are joined by John McWhorter to look at the relevance of the 100-year old institution and the challenges it faces in taking on 21st century discrimination. John McWhorter is a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and Adjunct Professor at Columbia, his latest book is Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold Story of English.

Bank of America and Citigroup have released their quarterly earnings reports and both have beaten the forecasts by financial analysts. Bank of America reported $2.42 billion in profits, and Citigroup earned $3.1 billion. Bank of America received $45 billion in bailout funds as part of the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial rescue package, but it has yet to repay the government loan. These earnings reports come on the heels of both Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase also posting high profits. How are the banks faring so well despite the gloomy economic climate? The Takeaway talks to Marshall Eckblad, banking reporter for the Dow Jones Newswire Service.

To commemorate the NAACP's Centennial, we take you to Franklin County, a rural area of 40,000 people in the southern part of Middle Tennessee. In 1958, two black women — Mrs. Johnnie Fowler, and Mickey Marlow — and one white man — Scott Bates — formed the area's first branch of the NAACP, the "Franklin County Branch." It's one of the few branches nationwide where female activists, and not men, led the town's desegregation efforts. One woman is still alive to tell the story of their struggle: Ms. Sarah Staten.