The Akron NAACP is bringing back a national speaker who inspired the group to do more to end racial inequality.
Roland Martin, a journalist known for asking hard-hitting questions, will return for the second year in a row to the NAACP’s Freedom Fund Dinner at 2 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Tangier, 532 W. Market St.
Freedom Fund dinners traditionally have new speakers each year, but Akron NAACP President Judi Hill said Martin was so energizing last year, she wanted to bring him back a second time. Hill said Martin challenged everyone in the audience to do more in the push to end racial inequality.
“He slapped us around. He left no one untouched,” Hill said. “Everybody felt like we could do more.”
After listening to Martin last year, Hill re-examined the way the NAACP collaborates with other organizations. Since then, she’s worked with dozens of area organizations in outreach efforts to get across the NAACP’s message. Those efforts include knocking on doors in Akron to assure people vote this year.
Next Sunday, Martin is expected to speak on the presidential election and voting rights. Hill said his speech will play directly into the theme of this year’s dinner, “NAACP: Yesterday and Today.”
The theme grew from her visit to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, where she said she saw that many of the issues the African-American community endured in the 1950s, including police brutality and disproportionate voting rights, are still in play today.
“Yesterday, some of the issues were the same, but today we’re working on them collectively and better and hopefully moving the needle forward,” Hill said.
Next Sunday, area churches also are holding a “Souls to the Polls” day, during which they’ll provide transportation to the Summit County Board of Elections to vote early. The polls are open until 5 p.m. that day.
“We want to keep it flowing so people can hear [the] speaker and go out and vote if they haven’t yet,” Hill said.
Last year’s dinner was standing room only with 500 people in attendance. Hill expects a similar number of attendees to see Martin this year.
Martin is a nationally syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate and an author who worked for CNN. Ebony magazine named him one of the 150 most influential African-Americans in the U.S. over several years.
Tickets are $70 each, or $65 for members of the NAACP. Doors open at 1:30 p.m.
For more information, call 330-573-4963 or email akronnaacp@yahoo.com.
Theresa Cottom can be reached at 330-996-3216 or tcottom@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @Theresa_Cottom .