Last Tuesday, the St. Louis County NAACP hosted its 76th Annual Freedom Fund Leadership Dinner at the Clayton Ritz-Carlton Hotel.
Roslyn M. Brock, chairman of the NAACP National Board of Directors, was presented with the Margaret Bush Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award. Brock told The American she was honored to receive an award named after a woman she considers to be a “committed civil rights heroine.”
“To be the first African-American woman to lead a historic civil rights organization is phenomenal,” Brock said of Margaret Bush Wilson, who served nine years as national NAACP board chairman. “And I serve in her legacy. It’s a responsibility to uphold that leadership.”
Brock was also this year’s keynote speaker. She has devoted 30 years to the organization and is the youngest person and fourth woman to hold her current position.
She was instrumental in the selection of attorney Cornell William Brooks as the association’s 18th national president and CEO after Benjamin Todd Jealous submitted his resignation last year. A search committee made the final selection out of more than 450 candidates, Brock said.
When asked which direction she hopes the new president and CEO will take the organization, she said: “Only higher and higher.”
“We need to really re-connect with our base and make sure that our message is relevant and resonates with the new generation of social justice advocates,” Brock said.
John Gaskin III of St. Louis County NAACP, who serves on the national board, said Brock embodies many of Wilson’s leadership qualities as forward-thinking, selfless individuals. Brock’s legacy has been to fill a void in today’s world by reaching back and bringing others along, Gaskin said.
“This woman is probably one of the youngest Lifetime Achievement honorees that the NAACP has had in the country,” Gaskin said, while introducing Brock. “This woman has sacrificed more for this entire organization than most people have their entire lives.”
Brock, in turn, acknowledged Gaskin’s leadership as a member of the national NAACP Board of Directors and a member of its Executive Committee.
More work needs to be done to raise the hopes, dreams and expectations of our children, Brock said during her speech. The survival of our community rests on our ability to break the chains of illiteracy, violence and poverty, Brock said.
In other awards, the Commitment to St. Louis Award was presented to Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Lou Brock.
The St. Louis American was honored for its advocacy in health care, education, scholarship and economic empowerment initiatives. Donald M. Suggs, publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American, accepted the award.
The St. Louis County NAACP also recognized a group of “Most Inspiring” St. Louisans: Angela Brown, MD, Washington University School of Medicine; Kevin Demoff, St. Louis Rams; Margarita Flores, Anheuser-Busch; Douglas Koch Sr., Brown Shoe Company; Brittany Packnett, Teach for America St. Louis; Shanti Parikh, Planned Parenthood; and Ida Goodwin Woolfolk, community leader.
Gaskin said the fundraiser generated nearly $180,000 in net proceeds that will be used to implement the NAACP’s policy objectives. Funds will also be used to help the branch secure a bid for the 2016 national NAACP convention.
Gaskin served as dinner chair for the third straight year. At 21, he is the youngest Freedom Fund chairman in the country.
FOX2’s Mandy Murphey, KMOV’s Sharon Reed, and KSDK’s Art Holliday co-anchored the dinner, attended by 780 guests. Next year’s venue will most likely be changed to accommodate a growing crowd, Gaskin said.
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