The expansive national NAACP convention that was set to take place this July in Boston has been postponed due to the coronavirus, local branch president Tanisha Sullivan announced.

“The convention is being postponed, and while the national office will make the appropriate announcement within the coming weeks, we will continue with convention planning, understanding that it just won’t be for July,” said Sullivan during a virtual NAACP membership meeting this week.

The 111th annual convention for the racial advocacy group was set to take place July 25-29 at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. It was expected to draw in about 10,000 people, including presidential candidates and other political figures.

“We have always said that the branch’s preparation for the convention was not about a date in July, it was always about our community and what our community needs,” said Sullivan.

The NAACP Boston Branch is recognized as the first chartered branch of the organization. Boston hosted one of the association’s earliest conferences in 1911 and this branch remains one of its strongest local chapters.

City officials had hoped that this convention could showcase racial progress in Boston, which last hosted the convention in 1982 amid a time of racial strife in the city.