NAACP Marks Century Of Justice & Equality

The annual Greater New Haven NAACP Freedom Fund dinner is always a special affair, but this year it was made more so as the branch celebrated 100 years of service.

“I know this is like a family reunion and everyone is excited to see each other, but we really need everyone’s attention,” NAACP Doris Dumas had to say a couple of times during the course of the evening’s festivities at the Omni Hotel Thursday. It’s like a family reunion because, from the members who help put together the event to the honorees and attendees, it is a virtual Who’s Who of New Haven.

But she wanted everyone’s attention not only to share the history of the chapter but to remind the packed ballroom of the work still ahead. The chapter was founded just eight short years after the national organization had made its debut. New Haven in 1917 had become a place of refuge of African-Americans fleeing the segregated South looking for jobs and justice, Dumas said.

She said on May 2, 1917, men and women of different faiths and ethnicities came together to discuss starting a branch of the NAACP. And by July of that same year, the New Haven branch kicked off its first mass meeting with none other than James Weldon Johnson, who was then field secretary of the national organization, as its keynote speaker. Nearly 100 years later TV One host and Managing Editor Roland Martin served as the keynote for the centennial celebration.

“Now, that is some history for you,” Dumas said to applause. ​“We are extremely proud of our rich history. And as a premier organization for civil rights, our focus continues to be on the protection of civil rights and fair achievement for all people. As we celebrate this milestone occasion, we are mindful of why it was critical and necessary to start the branch in 1917 and why we continue to need the NAACP 100 years later.”

And the New Haven branch has been busy pushing for increased homeownership, holding the city accountable on police brutality and working to close the achievement gap and advocating for more minority teachers.

In addition to celebrating a century of service to the greater New Haven community, the event honored those who aid the fight for justice and equality for all people. At Thursday’s centennial event the branch honored someone near and dear to its heart as a living legend: Roger C. Vann Jr.

Vann was elected the youngest president in the branch’s history. Under his leadership, the branch’s membership grew to one of the largest in the nation. And it pushed for and helped win a living wage policy, public sector employment diversity and responses to police misconduct. Fellow Living Legend award recipients Thursday night included bagel scion Marvin K. Lender and freedom rider Lula Mae White.

Centennial Chair Nicole Murphy reminded everyone in attendance that membership is the lifeblood of the all-volunteer organization. While recognizing those who’ve secured a life membership in the organization Thursday she urged everyone to join.

“We all know that 100 years haven’t been a solo achievement,” she said. ​“We arrived here because of you — all of our members. We are at an extremely critical point in our history. Our future is at risk. And the NAACP needs all of you to become a part of our network to take a stand, to answer the call for equality and to join the oldest and boldest civil rights organization in the nation.”