With the concept of service before self serving as the backdrop, the Northern Kentucky branch of the NAACP celebrated its 23rd annual Freedom Fund Gala in Florence on Friday.
Attendees gathered at the Hilton Cincinnati Airport Hotel to fellowship, dine and celebrate partnerships, with the overarching goal of focusing on ensuring all in the region have an opportunity to succeed in chosen endeavors, organizers said.
Greetings were extended by Florence Mayor Julie Aubuchon and Kentucky Supreme Court Justice Michelle Keller, while Newport Independent Schools Superintendent Tony Watts served as the evening’s keynote speaker.
“Normally, when I go to meetings or go to conferences, I’m usually the only minority in the building, unless my wife goes with me,” Watts said. “So we have to do better. In Kentucky we have six African-American superintendents out of 171 school districts. That’s 4%. The sad thing about it: This is 2023.”
Cultural conditioning plays a role in that dynamic, Watts said.
“(Cultural conditioning is) a social process in which authority figures such as professors, politicians, religious leaders and media define our cultural values, beliefs and ultimately the way we perceive ourselves in the world,” Watts said. “Cultural conditioning causes us to underestimate, undervalue and marginalize people of color.”
When interviewing for Newport’s superintendent vacancy in 2020, Watts said he told the board one of his focus areas would be to bolster the school district personnel’s diversity.
“I met with my leaders and told them we would increase the number of minority staff members in our district and met with the entire staff in our district and said we would increase the number of minority staff in our district,” Watts said of his actions after accepting the job. “Every year we start the same way. We’ve done better, but we have a long way to go.”
Northern Kentucky’s NAACP branch takes its work seriously and is intentional with regard to ensuring everyone has a voice, branch president Jerome Bowles said.
“When we continue to grow (regionally), we have to have a balanced approach to growth,” Bowles said. “We cannot leave the underserved communities behind as we progress in many other areas.”
Underserved communities are at times impacted by displacement, Bowles said.
“We have to look at the population that has existed for many years who helped build the community – and take those individuals’ needs and concerns into consideration,” Bowles said. “We want developers that are sensitive to the needs of everyone.”
Additionally, the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion across the board in the academic and business sectors cannot be minimized, Bowles said.
“These things have built the foundation of this nation based on the fact that all ethnic groups have contributed to the building of this nation,” Bowles said. “Yes, we have a challenging history that we have to overcome. We have to revisit that history and make sure that the negative history we’ve had in our nation never happens again. The only way to do that is through education.”
The gala offered the opportunity for the NAACP branch to present a series of awards and scholarships that included the following:
Corporate Award:
- Humana
- Fairstead
Partner in Education Award:
- Covington Partners
Duke Energy NAACP STEM Scholarship:
- Samuel Kwesi-Effah-Abrefah
- Emmanuella Opoku
- Elisa Amissah
St. Elizabeth / NAACP Scholarship:
- Jasmin Cavitt
- Tawana Carter
Community Empowerment Award:
- Deacon Melvin Harris
- Tara and Humphrey Engelmon
President’s Award:
- Valerie Slaughter
Special Recognition Award:
- Daniese Bush
“I am so honored to be able to represent the organization and be in the presence of Black excellence,” St. Elizabeth Healthcare Senior Consultant of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Tracy Stokes said before presenting the St. Elizabeth / NAACP scholarships. “All of the young people in this room – we want you to remember that you can do anything you want to do. Don’t let anyone put you in a box, don’t let anyone tell you what they want you to be. Whatever it is you want to do, you can.”
