N.C. NAACP president comments on Helms' death

"We in the Civil Rights community had deep and stark differences with Senator Jesse Helms' public policy positions. He opposed fundamental constitutional rights and the implementation of civil rights protections.

But we are all human. Senator Helms was a member of the human race, the human family, and as moral people, we are required to love even those who oppose us. We pray for his family and those he leaves behind in bereavement."