by S. Rotan Hale
It was a night filled with accolades, awards and great speeches as Roanoke’s NAACP held its 18th Annual Citizen of the Year Awards banquet to the theme “Seeking Justice for All.”
The affair held Friday, May 6 at Holiday Inn Tanglewood, has grown considerably over the years under the leadership of local organization president Brenda Hale.
With assistance from her team of organizers, the well-attended banquet was by all accounts, an affair to remember.
Serving as MC was Kianna Price-Wade who added her flair to the 3-hour affair and kept the proceedings upbeat and energized.
Retiring Mayor David Bowers opened his comments congratulating newly elected Mayor Sherman Lea and spoke on the “genuine blessing it has been to have served as mayor for 16 years.”
Lifting Bowers up as an NAACP “Silver Life” member, local organization president Brenda Hale presented the outgoing mayor with several gifts for his years of support.
President Hale also took the opportunity to spotlight the city’s new mayor and recognized Anita Price’s historic victory as Roanoke’s first African American woman elected as vice-mayor.
Following tradition, 20 high school students from William Fleming and Patrick Henry marched across the stage and briefly announced their plans as they head for college.
The slate of award recipients included:
Arts: Cora Carpenter-Small, founder and CEO of Paint Nite Roanoke; Business: Robert Jeffrey, publisher and CEO, Colors Magazine.
Education: Fletcher Nichols, educator, life coach and motivational speaker; Synethia Nichols, educator and special programs coordinator; Education/youth: Anton Jones, Eagle Scout and senior at William Fleming High School; Humanitarian: Ed Walker, attorney, developer and founder of CityWorks (X)po;
Media: Chris Hurst, news anchor for WDBJ (Channel 7), and Brie Jackson, news anchor for WSLS (Channel 10); Medicine: Nancy Howell-Agee, president and CEO of Carilion Clinic
Religion: Rev. Alonzo Smith, pastor, Price Memorial AME Zion Church, Roanoke.
Other awards included the Rev. R.R. Wilkinson Memorial Award for Social Justice that went to Anita Wilson and Lorena Wilson.
This year’s President’s Award went to: United Way of Roanoke Valley President and CEO Afira DeVries and Patricia Bradley Smith, a senior at Patrick Henry High School who is president of the local organization’s Youth Council. Retired Roanoke police chief Chris Perkins was recipient of the NAACP Lifetime achievement award.
Guest speaker for the affair was 11th VA House District Delegate Sam Rasoul who presented Joint Resolution #451 to Chief Perkins recognizing him for his service leading Roanoke City Police Department.
Rasoul went on to speak about Roanoke School Superintendent Dr. Rita Bishop and her concern regarding the reportedly 600 homeless children currently enrolled in the city’s schools.
“If you do the math its about one child in every classroom,” Rasoul said. With that he talked about Ryse an effort headed by United Way established to address the issue head on. The group’s goal is to first secure housing for 50 families, starting this summer. “Roanoke was the first city in Virginia to effectively end homelessness for Veterans, let’s try to do that for students as well,” he added.
Rasoul also saluted Virginia Gov. McAuliffe’s recent decision to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 ex-felons. These individuals can now immediately register and vote without any further processing. Rasoul issued a charge inviting anyone willing to help him and his staff with efforts to register 1,000 of these individuals–readying them for the 2016 presidential election.
Rasoul delivered a compelling talk centered around the concept of “Us and Them.” He pointed to individuals as constantly wondering “are you one of us or are you one of them,” and further explained the notion as a natural protection mechanism–“part of our fight or flight response.”
He explained how easy it is for politicians to use this information to manipulate the masses “so easily” through tactics based on fear and division. Taking the high road he intentionally chose not to denounce Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump.
“I could talk to you all night about some of the nonsense Trump has been saying but those that are familiar with my campaign know that we don’t do that… we only talk about what we are trying to accomplish because we are trying to build trust among people–not promote hate and division.”
Anyone even casually associating with Del. Rasoul can feel the genuine humanitarian spirit of this unique and balanced statesman for the people. With his placid manner and his effective approach to critical issues, he continues to prove himself as a true inspirator. Rasoul is clearly a politician of a different sort–one most fitting as keynote speaker for such an affair hinged on “seeking justice for all.”
