Freedom Fund Banquet

Hosted by the West Volusia Branch NAACP. Theme: “Supporting Our Future, While Remembering Our Past.” Keynote speaker: Cheryl Brown Henderson, a daughter of the Rev. Oliver L. Brown, who helped facilitate the Brown v. Board of Education lawsuit that ended school segregation. Henderson founded the Brown Foundation, which provides scholarships to minority students; presents awards to local, state and national leaders; establishes libraries for children in low-income communities; developed curriculum on Brown for educators across the country; created traveling exhibits and a website about Brown; and sponsors programs on diversity and educational issues. Mistress of ceremony will be WKMG anchor and journalist Ginger Gadsen. Trailblazer Award recipient Cornelius Hunter, Stetson University’s first African American undergraduate, 1962-66, majoring in Spanish and social studies, and education in the graduate program, who became a high-school teacher, will be acknowledged. Formal attire. Tickets: $125 VIP includes reception at 5 p.m. with an opportunity to meet the keynote speaker; $100 for adults; $50 youth age 18 and younger. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Call Sean King at 386-837-7743, Mike Williams at 386-804-6136, Barb Girtman at 386-308-9058, or Dr. A.J. Johnson at 407-369-3744.