Page 130 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2018
P. 130

GIVING BACK civil rights
NAACP-BILOXI BRANCH
Continues Work to Eliminate Discrimination
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of NAACP - Biloxi Branch
The Biloxi Branch of the NAACP was founded in 1960 by the late Dr. Gilbert Mason, Sr., a South Mississippi civil rights leader. The local group was chartered
by the national association to be part of its mission to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.
James Crowell is an active member of the Biloxi Branch and says the membership has remained strong through the years and is involved in numerous community projects.. “The Biloxi NAACP works individually and with many community partners to improve educational outcomes,
increase economic security for low income individuals and eliminate race based discrimination,” he said.
The 2017-18 programs include: voter education forums, Town Hall meetings to discuss community issues, expungement clinics, homebuyer education workshops, annual Black History program with the City of Biloxi, annual Wade In Commemoration program, annual Juneteenth history celebration
with community partners, annual School Supply Giveaway, annual Empowerment Festival and annual Martin Luther King celebration.
Asked if the group’s mission has changed since its beginning, Crowell said, “I wish I could say
that the mission has changed
but unfortunately it has not.
If anything, the mission of the NAACP is more needed today than in years past. It has always been rooted in eliminating race based discrimination.”
Founded February 12, 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s foremost, largest, and most widely recognized civil rights organization. Its more than half-million members and supporters throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, leading grassroots campaigns for equal opportunity and conducting voter mobilization.
NAACP-Biloxi Branch
610 Water St., Biloxi | 228.432.0206
130 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • December 2018 FOR MORE REFLECTIONS OF THE GULF COAST >> www.smliving.net


































































































   128   129   130   131   132