by Brenda Hale, President Roanoke Chapter NAACP
The 2015 Roanoke NAACP ACT-SO team traveled to the 37th National ACT-SO Competition in Philadelphia, PA, in July, and returned home with a winner. Olympians from Roanoke were: Danae Antoine, Drawing; Jasmine Armster, Medicine and Health; Aishah Brown, Poetry Performance; Curtis Staples, Jr., Entrepreneurship; and Kai Washington-Brown, Dance.
While in Philadelphia, Bell and Staples commandeered our Olympians to all of their designated competitions in an excellent manner. The opening ceremonies held on Thursday, July 9, were full of high energy with 675 Olympian marching in the parade of Cities and States. The awesome keynote speaker was Actress Edwina Findley Dickerson star of Tyler Perry’s TV series “If Loving You Is Wrong.”
Everyone was anxiously awaiting the start of the 37th National ACT-SO Awards Program, held in the beautiful Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Showcase MC’s were Yara Shahidi and Marcus Scribner, TV siblings on the series Black-ish. Two Roanoke Olympians were part of the Showcase, Aishah Brown who sang in the choir and Kai Washington-Brown who was chosen as one of the dancers. This was her second consecutive year of being selected. One cannot imagine the excitement when Danae won a Bronze Medal in Drawing. Kudos, to Danae and all of the Roanoke NAACP ACT-SO Olympians.
Those who helped to make year’s local participation in the National competition possible include: Roanoke City School Superintendant Dr. Rita Bishop, Women United for Community Action, Optical Cable, Roanoke Gas, Advance Auto Parts and the Barlow Family among many others.
ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics), was founded by Vernon Jarrett in 1978. Jarrett, then a Chicago Tribune columnist said, “It is urgent that the academic achievement of black youths be praised the same as we salute athletic achievers. “ ACT-SO is a year long youth achievement program sponsored by the NAACP, designed to recruit, stimulate and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among High School students of African descent.
In Roanoke Leadership is under Mrs. Gloria Randolph-King as ACT-SO, chair and City Council woman Anita James Price as the co-chair. Other team members include, Carlton Bell, Mollie DeBerry, Patrick Curtis,. Blake Barnes and Branch President Brenda Hale. The Local competition held in April yielded 5 Gold Medalists.
The ACT-SO competition is a great experience for talented High School youth, who are encouraged to demonstrate their talents and show everyone that they can be winners.
For more information about NAACP ACT-SO, contact Gloria Randolph-King at (540) 562-0632.
