On Saturday, February 11th, the NAACP celebrated its 114th year as a nationwide civil rights organization. The yearly anniversary has been aptly called “Founders’ Day.” The NAACP was founded on February 12, 1909, in New York, NY, by several social activists. Among those activists were the well-known W.E.B Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Mary Church Terrell. Today, the NAACP is the largest and most widely recognized civil rights organization in the nation. The Bulloch County NAACP recently celebrated its Founders’ Day with an open drop-in for food and fellowship at the Averitt Center for the Arts.
The Bulloch County NAACP finds the Averitt Center to be to be the perfect location for its Founders Day celebration each year. The center displays a variety of local Black artwork during the month of February for Black History Month. The mix of Black artistic representation coupled with the NAACP’s festivities makes the location an excellent one for highlighting and celebrating local Black culture.
The NAACP team works tirelessly to deliver engaging and informative events to residents regularly. They earn neither paycheck nor commission for their work; their efforts extend from the goodness of their hearts for a more just society. In speaking with Sophia Johnson, Secretary of Bulloch County’s NAACP, she expressed much elation for the progress and success of the local chapter thus far.
“We get no paycheck from this work," Johnson shared. "It is truly ‘heart’ work from our hearts to the community of Statesboro. We get our reward from helping the city of Statesboro become a more just and equitable place for all.”
Currently, the Bulloch NAACP chapter meets every fourth Monday of the month. The General Membership meetings are used to provide organizational information to registered members alongside interested individuals. At the general meetings, individuals are given information about the host of ongoing committees. Some of the committees available presently are health committees, justice committees, and religious committees, to name just a few. Johnson invites all locals to attend and join the NAACP to help spread more local awareness for social justice.
“We do so much more than just march and sing," she said. "We regularly hold community blood drives, have health committees, religious committees, and so much more for local participation. We encourage all locals to attend our general membership meetings and bring friends along to participate in creating lasting social change.”
The Bulloch County NAACP regularly collaborates with other local organizations such as South Georgia Tormenta FC and Boro Pride for creating lasting social progress. They are excited for more local partnerships in the future with other interested associations. Are you interested in joining the Bulloch County NAACP chapter? Please reach out and email [email protected] , or email Secretary Johnson at [email protected].
