Page 115 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2020

GIVING BACK
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of NAACP-Biloxi
In spite of the pandemic, the Biloxi NAACP is continuing its projects and community involvement. President James Crowell says the group is holding zoom meetings and keeping things going.
“We couldn’t sell tickets for our Freedom Dinner but with the IP Casino’s donation we were able to break even,” he said.
Other projects include: voter education forums, town hall meetings to discuss community issues, expungement clinics, homebuyer education workshops,
Black History program with the City
of Biloxi, Wade-In Commemoration program, Mother-of-the-Year recognition program, Juneteenth history celebration with community partners, school supply giveaway, Empowerment Festival and Martin Luther King celebration.
“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,” Crowell added.
The Biloxi chapter 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.
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.”
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
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