Featured Speakers Include Rev. Cromwell Handy, Dexter King Memorial Church Pastor, Political Appointee Meredith Lilly, and Dr. Robert Bullard, “Father of Environmental Justice”
(Mobile, AL Oct. 2, 2015) — The Alabama NAACP Conference will hold its 63rd Annual State Convention in Mobile, AL, October 22-25 at the Holiday Inn Downtown in the Mobile Historical District. The convention brings the national organization’s key policies — restoration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, voter registration and get out the vote strategies, economic opportunity, equitable public education, and fair treatment under the criminal justice system, and many others — to all state branches and the local communities they serve.
“The theme for this year’s convention is “From Selma to Shelby County: The Struggle Continues.” That’s because so much of what we want to accomplish starts with voting and elections,” says Alabama NAACP President Benard Simelton of Huntsville. “We believe that everything we do means getting the right people into the right positions to help people in general, to give them the opportunity for economic success, educational success and fair treatment in the criminal justice system. We also believe in restoring the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to include the State of Alabama and other states that passed restrictive voting measures as soon as the U.S. Supreme Court removed those protections in a case brought by Shelby County, Alabama.”
In keeping with its mission, Simelton says the Alabama NAACP is leading efforts to work with people in other communities of color, including Hispanics and Asians, to affect change for fairness and equity, regardless of race or ethnicity, in voting and the political processes.
The Alabama NAACP Youth and College Division will also have a complete schedule of workshops and speakers beginning on Saturday, October 24. The Youth workshops include training on leadership, overcoming racial discrimination, building stronger units and many other topics. The Youth luncheon speaker is speaker is Elizabeth Huntley, a committed child advocate and a passionate litigation attorney with the law firm Lightfoot, Franklin and White.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will be available to speak with individuals who believed they may have been discriminated against in the work place.
Simelton says “We are proud to have our labor partner, UAW, with us again this year. And because of their strong support, we are able to offer a free breakfast on Friday morning. The speaker for this breakfast is Rev. Everett Kelly, VP of the AFGE District 5. Members can contact their local or state union offices to register for the breakfast.”
Mobile County NAACP President Ronald Ali says the local branch is pleased to host the state convention here in the Port City. “Our executive committee and community partners are working diligently to ensure that this event is one of the best State Conferences in our history. Most of all, we want to make sure that the important information that the Alabama NAACP is bringing to us reaches deep down into the community.”
See list of events HERE.
Click HERE to download the registration form.
For more information:
Benard Simelton, President
Alabama NAACP
Phone: 256-444-1300
Cell: 256-426-6406
Email: bsimelton@aol.com
Website: ALNAACP.org
Ronald Ali, President
Mobile County NAACP Branch #5044
Cell: 251-366-4870
Email: chauffeursunltd@yahoo.com
Website: mobilenaacp.org
