The Limestone County NAACP Branch will host the Alabama NAACP State Conference 57th Annual State Convention at the Decatur Holiday Inn Oct. 22-25 with a special guest appearance by a woman who was beaten and left for dead at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965.
Guests include Amelia Platts Boynton, 98, a member of the group that formulated strategies for nonviolent social resistance in Alabama and most widely known as a civil rights activist and organizer for the march over the Edmond Pettus Bridge.
Renowned African American artist Gilbert Young, who painted “He Ain’t Heavy,” one of the most widely recognized works of art in contemporary black art history, will appear courtesy of the Alabama State NAACP and Gateway Educational Foundation Inc., founded by James and Genise Brown.
The photo of Boynton lying on the bridge after being brutalized and gassed by policemen and left for dead was broadcast around the world. Guests are invited to meet Boynton during the Mass Meeting and Delegate Reception Oct. 23 beginning at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., respectively. On Oct. 24, Boynton will participate in a youth seminar.
Young’s work, including his new release featuring the image and signature of President Obama entitled “History + Hope = Change,” will be sold Oct. 23-24 with part of the proceeds benefiting the Alabama State NAACP.
The theme for this year’s convention is “NAACP; 100 Years of Bold Dreams and Big Victories,” in recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the National NAACP organization, which was founded in February 1909.
Speakers and attendance fees include: Juanita Sales Lee for the WIN Breakfast, president Federal Bar Association, $20; Ed Vaughn, Alabama State Conference president for the Freedom Fund Banquet, and a performance by the Aeolians of Oakwood University, $35; Rear Admiral Clyde Marsh, USN Retired, commissioner, Alabama State Department of Veterans Affairs who will speak at the military luncheon, $20; and youth luncheon speaker, James Nortey, president of Harvard NAACP, $20.
The conference will also include several workshops, including: Health Care/Health Care Reform, Legal Redress, Veterans Benefits, American Indian Cultural, Grant Writing, Black Land Loss, and Women in NAACP (WIN). Many others are planned for the convention, according to Benard Simelton, Limestone County branch president and convention chairman.
Simelton said a 100-voice male chorus composed of local singers will entertain during the Mass Meeting. Also, Attorney Thomas J. Methvin, managing partner of Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C. law firm of Montgomery and recently elected president of the Alabama State Bar Association, will make remarks.
This is also an election year for the state conference and Simelton of Limestone County and Jimmy Gardner of Mobile are running for president.
Conference registration is $25 and open to everyone. Contact Simelton at (256) 426-6406 or Edward Vaughn, state president, at (334) 714-4128 for more details.
Local News
Related Photos
Discussion
NAACP to host civil rights pioneer
- Local News
-
- Holiday closings
-
Memorial Day ceremony slated for Monday
The event, presented by American Legion Post 49 with assistance from the Alabama Veterans Museum and Archives, will be held at 10 a.m. Monday at the Limestone County Event Center on Pryor Street.
-
Tornado artifacts sought for exhibit
Scientists at the National Weather Service in Huntsville are asking Limestone County residents to contribute to a historical and educational display about the tornado outbreak of April 27, 2011.
-
Schools chief is 'ecstatic' over job
Board members cited Sisk’s experience in handling personnel issues, his working for a large school system, his outgoing personality and his willingness to help obtain money to buy laptop computers for students as evidence of his promise.
-
'Significant' local arrests net drugs, cash
Limestone County deputies made what Sheriff Mike Blakely termed “significant arrests” with a Friday evening drug bust of a house at 817 Westmoreland Street.
-
BREAKING: Reward offered in Limestone burglary
-
MORE STORIES: Click LOCAL NEWS bar at top left
Click "Local News" bar at top left for more stories
-
Bills in meth trash lead to arrest
Trash included the portions of phone and cable bills that led investigators to the address of 43-year-old Larry M. Mason of Tuscumbia.
-
Space Camp celebrating 30th anniversary
The center is hosting a weekend of family-friendly activities and a reunion of Space Camp alumni on June 15.
-
Community colleges seeing declining enrollment
American Association of Community Colleges spokeswoman Norma Kent says changes in the economy are to blame.
- More Local News Headlines
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
