DETROIT — The Detroit Branch NAACP held its 67th Annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner, Sunday. Speakers for this year’s event centered on the issue of freedom and democracy, alluding to what civil and political see as an attack on voting rights push by conservative groups.
“The goal of the coordinated attack is to systemically disenfranchise communities of color,” said, Governor Gretchen Whitmer. “I’m focused on growing equitable opportunity for everyone who lives in this great State to realize the potential and pass prosperity in a way to live with dignity and to raise a family.”
The theme for this year’s annual event is, “Freedom is Expensive, But Tyranny is Unaffordable”.
“As we face the onslaught of voter suppression, the marginalization of people and minorities throughout the nation, the recent, we believe, execution style murder of Patrick Lyoya on the part of a Grand Rapids police officer still demands the need for police reform, war in Ukraine and elsewhere, the need to fight to preserve our freedom and our democracy remains paramount, said Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of Detroit branch NAACP. “Right here in the state of Michigan we are facing an attack on freedom and our right to vote with the introduction of 39 bills, “the blind 39,” by Republican legislators seeking to suppress, delay, confuse and intimidate. We will not be deterred. We encourage everyone to Take Their Soles To The Polls And Vote.”
Attendance doubled since last year amid the relaxing of pandemic protocols.
It was a return to the red carpet as guest lined the entry way welcomed by billboards of Black excellence and Black civil rights advocates.
It was an all-star lineup of awardees and celebrity guests who were honored for their leadership in advancing a social and economic agenda of Black people both nationally and locally.
Celebrating Sunday with the Detroit Branch NAACP for its anniversary and in the fight for freedom were several Hollywood actors and actresses. Ms. Elise Neal of the Black Hamptons, Ms. Annie Llonzeh of Chicago Fire, Mr. Lamman Rucker, star of Greenleaf, Chris Spencer, comedian, writer, director, creator of Kevin Hart’s Real Husbands of Hollywood, Scott Evans, host of Access Hollywood, Tobias Truvillion, of Equal Standard and Empire, and of course, and Ms. Angela Yee of the Breakfast Club radio show.
The Detroit Branch NAACP honored recipients of the Ida B. Wells Freedom and Justice Award for Honorable Judge Cynthia Diane Stephens, recently retired from the Michigan Court of Appeals. State Representative Sarah Anthony received one of the Great Expectation awards for the work she has done in the legislature with introducing the Crown Act to protect women of color from discrimination and cultural prejudice. The second Great Expectation Award was presented to Christian Smalls of New York who recently organized, for the first time in its history, Amazon workers into the Amazon Labor Union.
“It feels great to see workers standing up to their employer,” said Smalls.” We had a democratic election and actually went and vote to have a union for the first time in American history.”
Gary Torgow, Chairman of Huntington National Bank, received the James Weldon Johnson Lifetime Achievement Award. The organization says his philanthropy and positive entrepreneurship throughout this metropolitan area is legendary.
Standing up for the rights of others is what the civil rights organization has done since its inception. This message was amplified in the crowded room at Huntington Place in downtown Detroit.
“The pandemics of racism and the Coronavirus turned our worlds upside down, but still, we rise,” said Kamila Landrum, Executive Director, Detroit Branch NAACP. “The battles ahead of us to protect voting rights, civil rights, education, jobs, and the economy, women’s rights and so much more must be fought without fear and unapologetically.”
This is the 110th anniversary since the founding of the Detroit Branch NAACP. It was in 1912 that Detroit received its charter to operate as a local branch. Several Black leaders came together to establish the Detroit Branch NAACP.
The Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner was launched in April 1956 under the leadership of Branch President Edward M. Turner, Arthur L. Johnson, and Dr. Lionel F. Swan. The Freedom Fund Dinner was founded in a period of renewed national hope and determination among Black Americans, even in the face of continuing racial violence and tragedy.
The financial support for the annual Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner ensures that the long-storied civil rights organization remains on the front lines.
For the past 44 years, the Detroit Branch NAACP has held its major fundraiser, the “Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner.” In 1999, the dinner was attended by 10,000 guests, including Vice President Al Gore as the keynote speaker. The event’s 1999 theme, “Leveling the Playing Field for the 21st Century, “called for continued focus to fight for equality and opportunity for all citizens of the United States.
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