This year the St. Louis City NAACP chapter is celebrating its 100th anniversary. In honor of the occasion, last month the chapter launched its Centennial Campaign during a kickoff reception hosted by Ameren. The campaign has a fundraising goal of $500,000.
During his opening remarks, Adolphus M. Pruitt II, president of the St. Louis City NAACP, stated that further advancement of the organization’s mission will require greater financial support from the St. Louis community.
Pruitt then announced that Thomas Voss, president, chairman & CEO of Ameren, and his wife Carol have agreed to serve as Centennial Campaign co-chairs.
The St. Louis City NAACP is “critical to the continued elimination of discrimination and injustice,” Thomas Voss said.
Voss announced that presenting sponsors Ameren, Centene, Edward Jones and Express Scripts collectively pledged $120,000 toward the goal.
The campaign kickoff reception was held for major donors and supporters and included state Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, Judge George W. Draper – only the second African-American judge to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court – and Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis President James H. Buford.
The St. Louis City NAACP says that all monetary contributions will aid efforts to grow its membership and increase the effectiveness of its programs and level of annual support.
Pruitt emphasized that current NAACP members have an obligation to those who came before them.
“We represent the dreams of the past, of our forebrothers and sisters and their desires,” Pruitt said. “I think for the next 100 years, we as members of the NAACP have an obligation to make the dreams of our children come true.”
Thomas is hopeful that campaign will reach its goal by June 7 when the St. Louis City NAACP hosts its Centennial Gala at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel.
New CBC chair keynoted
U.S. Rep. Marcia L. Fudge, D-Ohio, the new chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, was guest speaker at the request of the St. Louis City NAACP and Frankie Muse Freeman, iconic civil rights attorney and member of the NAACP executive committee.
Fudge has represented the 11th District of Ohio for three consecutive terms. Previously, she was the first African-American female mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio.
According to Fudge, the deaths of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis are examples of why the NAACP is just as relevant now as it was during its founding.
For those unaware of this new case that also involved the shooting death of an unarmed teen, Jordan, 17, was killed by a white man in Jacksonville, Fla. after a confrontation over loud car music in November 2012.
“These are the reasons organizations like the NAACP must stay alive,” Fudge said. “Because if they don’t, who will shine a light and bring attention to what is happening on our streets far away from the stately halls of Washington, D.C.?”
She said the civil rights challenges of today are different from those of yesterday. In the past, these challenges involved race riots in East St. Louis and peaceful sit-ins to desegregate lunch counters at Woolworth’s.
Now, these challenges are the fight against the dilution of the Affordable Care Act; deficit reduction at the expense of seniors, children and education; and the U.S. Supreme Court’s review of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
For additional information and/or to receive the official Gala invitation, contact the St. Louis City NAACP at 314-361-8600 or contact Shirley Brown, sbrown601@aol.com, 314-367-8739.
