Lorain NAACP celebrates 65 years with annual banquet

LORAIN — The Lorain NAACP celebrated its 65th anniversary on Saturday with its annual Freedom Fund banquet. This year's theme, "The Fierce Urgency of Now," saw a call to action by keynote speaker Jocelyn Armstrong and others from the long-standing organization. Lorain NAACP Treasurer Earl Harris noted the group celebrated more than six decades of standing strong in the fight for justice and equity, both in the International City and on the national stage. "Each time we come together, we assemble to fight together and we honor the legacy of our past civil rights leaders," Harris said. Armstrong looked first to the preamble of the U.S. Constitution in a call for equality. "We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure a domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity," she quoted. "... Now many of us in this room realize that when this document was drafted in 1787, Black folks, Indigenous and native folks and women were not exactly acknowledged their full humanity. And yet we were, and we are the people who contribute to the myriad cultural experiences that create the rich history and the future of this nation." And it is those same people equipped to meet the urgency of now, she said, and find hope and unity amidst chaos and confusion. She touched on recent targets to diversity, equity and inclusion in President Donald Trump's executive orders. Hours after taking office in January, the president signed an order "ending radical and wasteful government DEI programs." That target to end diversity, equity and inclusion mandates extended to publicly funded colleges and universities and K-12 schools, and similar efforts have been made in states across the country, including a March ban on DEI programs at public colleges signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. Armstrong said the acronym at the heart of the discussion has been twisted and tainted, and instead she chose to use the full words and define them for attendees. "Diversity, equity and inclusion is not about placing unqualified people in leadership positions," she said. 'Instead, it is a way to ensure that people who are often overqualified get a chance to thrive in spaces where they're usually shut out." She said diversity, equity and inclusion programs benefit people not just based on race, but on myriad characteristics including disability status and gender — and just because those words are eliminated from the national vocabulary does not mean those individuals disappear. She called for attendees to keep fighting for equality, create diverse spaces and make sure inclusion is part of plans moving forward. Armstrong looked to the history of the Civil Rights Movement — the Montgomery Bus Boycott and other actions — for the lessons the current and future generations can take moving forward. There must be unity around a common goal, she said, and a correction of misinformation or disinformation. "We're not going to always agree on how these things are supposed to happen, but if we understand everyone has a role to play in liberation, we will get it done," she said. Faith and imagination will take the movement far, she said, reminding attendees of the faith it took individuals to survive slavery, Jim Crow laws, civil rights marches and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. "We are the people who will navigate this upheaval and change," she said. "We are the people who imagine and usher forward a new and bright future for the generations that are following us and we are the people who will thrive and create from the ashes." Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.