NAACP awards social justice advocates at annual dinner

As Reuben Shelton, president of the Missouri Bar Association, celebrated the work of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Saturday night, he remembered how the organization played an integral role in his father's life.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, when racial tensions in America were at its peak, Shelton's father fought to maintain his employment. A fair-skinned black man, Shelton's father passed as a white man when he was hired as an auto worker in St. Louis. When his employers discovered he was African American, they let him go. Stepping in to advocate for his father, Shelton said, was the NAACP.

Reflecting on his personal story, Shelton, the senior counsel for Monsanto Co., said the NAACP must remain the "watchdog" for individuals like his father, who face inequalities and injustices every day.

"They are the engine for social change, and we have to make sure the NAACP stays in that position," Shelton said.

He served as the guest speaker Saturday for the Jefferson City NAACP's 52nd annual Freedom Fund Dinner and Silent Auction at Capitol Plaza Hotel, where he sat near many others with a similar connection as him - Lincoln University. Shelton was a former president of the LU Board of Curators. In addition to being the guest speaker, he received the Jefferson City NAACP's Lifetime Achievement Award, which is given "in recognition of an individual who has worked diligently and given honorable and dedicated service in the safeguard of justice and democracy."

Rod Chapel, Jr., president of the Jefferson City NAACP branch, introduced recipients of six other awards in front of the room of more than 150 guests. Award recipients were:

• Kevin Rome, president of Lincoln University, who received the Roy Wilkins Award;

• Rev. Michell Scott-Huffman, pastor at Table of Grace, who received the Rosa Parks Award;

• Empower Missouri, a statewide nonprofit advocacy organization, received the Corporate/Public Image Award;

• Sgt. Desiree Torres with the Missouri National Guard and Stand Up KC, a Kansas City-based organization that advocated recently for a higher minimum wage, received the Presidential Choice Award;

• Joseph Ward III received the Myrtle Smith Oden Young Adult Service Award;

• Cassandra Gould, pastor at the Jefferson City Quinn Chapel AME Church, and Sandra Robinson, a 44-year NAACP member and the current membership chair, received the Lifetime Service Award.

"They are both African American women who are deep not only in their faith, but also to humanity," Chapel said. "Sandra Robinson has been a member and leader in the NAACP for more than 40 years. ... She's been a driving force, a unifying force in Jefferson City. ... Rev. Gould came from St. Louis and has just done a fantastic job here locally. We've had dialogues not only about race and socio-economic status, but more importantly dignity involved in humanity. And, that really speaks to the life's work of both of these ladies."

The organization also awarded three scholarships. LU students Kenisha Gransberry and Jasmine Young received the Saundra Allen Good Citizenship Award and the Lorine F. Knight Minority Education Scholarship, respectively. Jordan Walker received the Jefferson City Branch Choice Scholarship.

Chapel said the annual dinner is a major fundraiser for the organization, financially supporting the local branch's training to maintain its NAACP status.