NAACP national youth leader here Friday

When I met three years ago with Herb Williams, secretary of the Youngstown unit of the NAACP, and Joseph Hightower, the unit’s parliamentarian and executive board member, they told me the chapter had a desire to get more local youths involved in the civil-rights group.

They particularly wanted to focus on the hopes and aspirations of area youths for their education and future employment.

This year, the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People reactivated its youth unit.

The youth unit’s acting adviser is LK Williams.

The unit has been meeting throughout the year, and with Williams’ guidance and community help, several young people were able to go to Detroit to visit the Charles H. Wright African American Museum, Motown Records and the African World Festival.

To keep the momentum going to encourage minority youths to join the nation’s oldest civil-rights organization, the local unit of the NAACP is bringing in a person who can speak directly to preteens, teens and young adults.

Sammie J. Dow, director of the national Youth and College Division of the NAACP, is the guest speaker for the local unit’s 96th Freedom Fund Banquet at 7 p.m. Friday at the Mahoning County Club, 710 E. Liberty St., Girard.

Dow, who took the position in 2012, heads the nation’s largest army of civil-rights youth leaders with more than 25,000 young people across 600 active youth councils and college chapters across the country.

Under his leadership, the NAACP’s Youth and College Division is leading a national grass-roots organizing strategy to engage youths, college students and young professionals in a comprehensive gun-violence advocacy campaign.

Dow has a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina A&T State University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a candidate for a master of divinity degree at The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University.

Before accepting the NAACP post, Dow was the foundation and corporate-development manager for Family Resources, a $10 million human-services agency in southwestern Pennsylvania focused on the prevention and treatment of child abuse.

Dow wrote these words in 2012 about his plans for the youth division:

“My commitment is solid, yet simple. I will work to build relationships and partnerships that equip young people to develop their voice — a voice of courage and a voice willing to challenge the status quo, no matter how large or powerful the target may appear.

“No more are the days of the youth voice being used only to poetically recite history. We must resurrect our desire to seek change and never back down or concede to the unjust systems that seek to rescind the liberties we are all guaranteed.”

While LK Williams is overseeing activities for youths through high school, William Blake, director of Student Diversity Programs at Youngstown State University, is the adviser for YSU’s Collegiate Unit of the NAACP. Blake also is pastor of Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church of Dennison, Ohio.

YSU received its charter in February.

Williams said the youth council will sponsor seven young people to attend the banquet for free. Preference will be given to youths who are in grades five through eight. Transportation will be arranged for youths whose parents cannot attend.

Tickets for the banquet are $40 per person or $320 for a table of eight.

The youth council also has other activities planned for this month, as well as a trip to Warrensville Heights High School near Cleveland for the 12th annual historically black colleges and universities college fair from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 22.

For information about the college fair, call her at 330-788-1005, or call 216-282-4228, or go to the website www.hbcualumnicle.com

Williams added that if you would like your child to attend the banquet, call her and give her the name and grade of the child.

To get more information about YSU’s NAACP unit, call Blake at 330-941-2086.

For information on becoming a member of the local NAACP unit or about the banquet, call the local NAACP office at 330-782-9777, or email naacp-youngstown@yahoo.com.

Steven Mickel is the local chapter president. The banquet chairwoman is Juanita Byrd.

Ernie Brown Jr., a regional editor at The Vindicator, writes a monthly minority-affairs column. Contact him at ebrown@vindy.com