By MOLLIE FINCH BELT
The Dallas Examiner
On Friday night, I was honored to receive the Political Engagement Award at the Juanita Craft Freedom Fund Scholarship Awards Gala hosted by the Dallas Chapter of the NAACP.
Awards were also given to Dr. Opal Lee, “Grandmother of Juneteenth” for justice and civic engagement; Rev Dr. John Jackson, overseer at DFW Family Church, for faith-based engagement; The Honorable Aicha Davis, State Board of Education representative, for her service in education; Kathryn Mitchell, retired educator, also for her service in education; Willis Johnson, CEO and founder of JBJ Management, received the award for corporate leadership; John Proctor, president of the Regional Black Contractors Association, received the Humanitarian and Social Justice Award; and Honorable Yvonne Davis, representing Texas’ District 111, received the Public Service Award.
Mitchell informed the audience that she was 101 years old as she accepted the award standing at the podium. She said when she taught school in Dallas ISD in the ‘50s and ‘60s, teachers would get fired for joining the NAACP and now she is getting an award from the NAACP. She shared that she told her husband the NAACP was really doing some great things and she wanted to become a member, however, she could not afford to lose her job. And she would have lost her job if she had joined the NAACP back then.
My award was special for me as well because I was an active member of the NAACP Youth Council while I was a student at Lincoln High School from 1957 to 1961. Juanita Craft was our Youth Council Advisor. She taught us many things about how political involvement is necessary to get equal rights for Negroes. The Civil Rights Movement was at its height, and we met every Monday night in the backyard of her house. When the weather was bad, we met at a small church down the street from her house. It was in those meetings that I learned the song We Shall Overcome.
I can’t remember a time in my life when I was not a member of the NAACP. Currently, I am a life member.
The Dallas Chapter of the NAACP, led by President Dr. Sharon Middlebrooks, is active today in educating, registering, and getting people out to vote. Unfortunately, there are many today in Dallas County who, though we have the right to vote, do not vote.
Our forefathers fought too hard and sacrificed much that we had the right to vote. And the NAACP has been working to get African Americans to exercise those rights.
Under the leadership of Casey Thomas, political action chair for the Dallas Chapter and the Texas Chapter of the NAACP, leading up to the general election in November, the NAACP hosted the following:
- Black Male Political Summit virtually and in person in July.
- Black Women’s Political Summit virtually in August.
- A weekly virtual phone bank and block walking training in April leading up to the May runoff primary election.
- Two statewide Days of Action for local branches and community partners including the Divine 9 (one in May and one in October. Days of Action focused on voter registration, virtual phone banks and block walking.
- Virtual phone banks for two days to inform voters that Election Day was the next day and called voters on Election Day and encouraged them to get out and vote and let them know where the nearest voting center was to them.
Many people worked in the above activities, too many to name. Additionally, nonprofit organizations were involved. But many more are needed.
Everyone can do something. As Middlebrooks said at the end of the program Friday night, there is much work to be done, join the NAACP. The Dallas chapter meets every third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Thurgood Marshall Center in Oak Cliff.
Mollie Finch Belt is the publisher and owner of The Dallas Examiner. She can be reached through https://www.dallasexaminer.com.
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