The NAACP was founded 99 years ago today from an initial group of about 60 diverse progressive thinkers and multi-racial activists. Formed in response to the Springfield, Ill. race riot of 1908, the horrific practice of lynching and other harsh treatment of African Americans, the NAACP has since continued to be a driving force for racial tolerance, social change, justice and equality in America.
Down through the years the role of the NAACP has remained constant under its mission to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.
Over time, NAACP leaders and members have been threatened and killed for their beliefs and actions. Yet the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization perseveres. Its historic lawsuits and peaceful demonstrations to force change in America are world renown.
As disparities in education, health care, criminal justice, housing and discrimination in all its forms persists, the NAACP will remain vigilant.
[For more on the NAACP, its history and accomplishments, then and now, go online to http://www.NAACP.org.]
To commemorate the 99th anniversary of the Association's founding, NAACP officers and branch members nationwide are taking part in many activities often in conjunction with events that also note February as Black History Month.
The Georgia State Conference of the NAACP will celebrate the 99th anniversary of the NAACP with a five city tour that will touch major population centers in the state. In addition to a press conference with Branch, city officials and community activists making official proclamations on Founders Day, the state conference will also detail progress on its 10 Point Legislative Agenda that addresses the political, social and economic advancement of people of color in the nation's fastest growing state.
Additionally, Black history and NAACP Founder's Day programs will take place around Georgia. The Cobb County NAACP will host a major Black History Celebration Feb. 21 at Kennesaw State University at 4 p.m. which will include oral history recordings and recognition of the NAACP's contribution to making American a more perfect union.
The Washington County Branch of the NAACP hosted a tribute to local Black history makers and a freedom fund banquet in Sandersville, Ga. Feb 1.
In New York, the Ellenville NAACP will Celebrate Black History Month Feb. 19. The guest speaker will be Dr. Corrine Nyquist, librarian at the Sojourner Truth Library at the State University of New York at New Paltz. She will give a presentation on Sojourner Truth, living as a slave in Ulster County in Hurley.
The Oneida County Branch NAACP will celebrate the Association's 99th anniversary 6 p.m., Feb. 20 at the St. Francis de Sales Parish Center.
On Feb. 28 the Brooklyn Branch NAACP will participate in a Black history program at Brooklyn College with black educators to discuss legacy of slain NAACP Mississippi Field Secretary Medgar Evers. Evers and the NAACP's legacy have also been the topic of Black history presentations in three other Brooklyn locations since the start of the month.
The Auburn/Cayuga Branch NAACP and the incarcerated veterans at Auburn Correctional facility hosted a Black history dinner Feb. 9 featuring wining essay from students who wrote on the most influential African American in their life.
The Paterson Branch NAACP in New Jersey will announce the winners of its Black History Month essay contest at ceremonies in the Passaic County Community College auditorium Feb. 21 at 6 p.m. Open to middle and high school students, this year's essay topic was "Embracing Black History: Exploring My Past to Discover My Future." Winning contestants will receive a computer or savings bond.
The Colorado Springs Branch NAACP Founder's Day Celebration, "Celebrating 99: The NAACP Past, Present and Future," will occur 3 p.m. Feb. 24 at Payne Chapel AME Church, featuring the Gospel Music of America Workshop Choir. Guest speaker will be NAACP Silver Life Member Mike Edmonds, PhD, Vice President/Dean of Students at The Colorado College.
The Fayette-Henry-Rush NAACP is sponsor a Black History Month Celebration Feb. 24 in Rushville, Ind. The event will be held at St. Paul's United Methodist Church and begin at 3:30 PM. Several groups will be providing musical selections and a praise dance group will perform.
Leading officials of NAACP units in South Carolina gathered Feb. 9 to recognize the 99 years that the NAACP has worked toward achieving social justice in America. A public ceremony was held at the I. DeQuincey Newman United Methodist Church in Columbia that included presentation of the NAACP Valuing Leadership Award to Rev. A.C. Redd. Redd is a former state executive of the South Carolina State Conference NAACP during the early 1950s who was an organizer supporting plaintiffs in the Briggs v. Elliott school discrimination lawsuit and catalyst in the Tallahassee Bus Boycott in Florida.
The South Carolina State Conference NAACP also announced at that time its first appointments to a special Centennial Commission that will develop appropriate activities to highlight the contributions of South Carolinians to the success of the NAACP.
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