By Fletcher Word
The Truth Editor
“The Fierce Urgency of NOW!” was the theme of the NAACP Toledo Branch’s Freedom Fund Celebration held at the Premier Banquet Hall on Saturday, October 25.
“Thise words, spoken by D. Martin Luther King, Jr., remind us that our struggle for freedom and equality cannot be delayed,” wrote Darlene Sweeney-Newbern, president of the NAACP Toledo Branch.
The highlights of this year’s celebration were the keynote address by Larome Myrick, PhD, and the presentation of a variety of awards to some of Toledo’s most distinguished citizens.
The evening began with an opening ceremony – a call to order by the mistress of ceremonies, an invocation by Pastor Doc Kelly of Macedonia Baptist Church, the U.S. National Anthem and “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Jacob Bates.
NAACP Toledo Branch President Darlene Sweeney-Newbern offered the welcome to the assembled guests and Cash recognized the dignitaries present in the room.
After dinner, Myrick spoke to the attendees and addressed the night’s theme: “the Fierce Urgency of NOW.”
“We are too big to fail,” Myrick emphasized “What are you guys going to do about it?”
Myrick noted that the Toledo NAACP is more than 100 years old, founded “out of crisis; out of courage … by visionaries who believed that justice delayed is justice denied; by people who were tired of being told to wait.”
“We are too big to fail,” he repeated and said that this would be one of the few times that evening when he would talk about failure because “failure is not our story … our story is resilience; our story is getting back up.”
That story of resilience and getting back up was certainly reflected that evening in the group of four women who received the President Centenarian Award of Distinction:
Cordelia Roberts, born September 21, 1925, in DeKalb, Mississippi, and settled with her family in Toledo in 1944.She and her late husband, Jake, had eight children, 24 grandchildren, 44 great grandchildren and a number of great great grandchildren. She also had a 61 career with Bennett Enterprises, retirning at the age of 91.
Ruth Cowell, born on January 24, 1923, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, moved to Toledo in 1946 and married George Cowell the same year. For a number of years Ruth and George owned nd operated “George’s Hamburger Grill” on Indiana Avenue. The couple have four children and more grandchildren, great grandchildren, great great grandchildren than Ruth can count.
Amanda West, born on May 19, 1922, in DeKalb, Mississippi, married Rev. J. W. West and moved to Toledo with her family in the 1940s. Amanda worked at the Commodore Perry Hotel’s Shapiro’s Drugstore for over 27 years until it closed. She and her husband bought a house on Hoag Street where she has remained for over 60 years. She was a mother of nine (three still living), grandmother of 24, great grandmother of 57 and the great great grandmother of 11.
Ethel Lee Walden was born on October 5, 1919 in Boynton, Oklahoma. During World War II, working as a secretary in the administrative offices of a job training program for defense workers, she met Capt Robert Walden, MD, whom she married and eventually accompanied to Toledo in 1969 when Dr. Walden was recruited to help start the Medical College of Ohio (now UTMC). The couple would have five children, all of whom had led successful careers in service and social activism.
The Toledo NAACP also presented several other awards to noteworthy individuals and one group.
Helen Cooks, PhD, former associate professor, director of Innovative scholarship and educational incentive programs at the University of Toledo, assistant vice president for EXCELlence Programs, Office of Enrollment and Placement Services, retired in 2006 after 31 years with UT. In 2016, the university commended her service and bestowed upon her the rank of Professor Emerita.
Deonte Moss, DMin, co-founder of Life Institute, LLC, an organization dedicated to youth and family development, and also PUSH Program at Leverette Elementary School and Passing the Torch, which prepares young men for leadership, accountability and excellence. With his wife, Krontayia Moss, EdD, he co-leads Moss & Mariage, a ministry devoted to equipping couples to build strong, faith-centered relationships.
The Toledo Buffalo Soldiers, a group that represents a part of history that has been little known until recent years, provides: lifesaving information on disaster preparedness, personal safety education for senior citizens, antibullying programs, gun safety programs, information on dealing with law enforcement officials, among many other programs.
The current executive officers of the Toledo NAACP are Darlene Sweeney-Newbern, president; Calvin W. Brown, 1st vice president; Monita Mungo, PhD, 2nd vice president; WilliAnn Moore, 3rd vice president; Doris Roberts, treasurer; Valerie Murphy, secretary and Kandice Saulsberry, assistant secretary.