NAACP honors advocates, including Loretta Jenkins

The 42nd annual Freedom Fund and Awards Banquet, which is the main fundraiser and awards ceremony for the Marion County Branch of the NAACP, was held April 26 at the Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place. The theme of the banquet was “Protecting Our Vote,” with several speakers and guests discussing recent changes in Florida laws that may impact voter registration or turnout. About 175 guests heard comments from several NAACP local officials and dignitaries.

Incoming chapter president Jerone Gamble, taking the reins from outgoing president James D. Stockton III, said violence like the shooting death of “A.J.” Owens, affordable housing and proper teaching of Black history are a few of the current issues facing the community.

“The future will be determined by our vote. There are too many registered voters not going to the polls,” Gamble said.

Guest speaker Jerron Hawkins was a student and 2016 working member of the My Brothers Keeper initiative that was started by then President Barack Obama in the wake of the shooting of Treyvon Martin. The focus of the group is addressing oppression aimed at boys and men of color, according to the event program.

Hawkins, a 2019 graduate of Howard University and graduate of Howard Law School, has worked with the ACLU, served as a strategic consultant for the Barack Obama Foundation and currently is a Department of Justice policy advisor appointee for the office of Community Relations Services, the program indicated. The focus of his office is to “mitigate acts of discrimination, hate crimes, bias and racism amongst youth” and his office handles an internship for youth.

Hawkins called himself a “product of the Brothers Keeper” initiative. He gave several examples of lingering, daily racism in America, including persons of color being followed in department stores and locks clicking shut as they approach. He said voter turnout for the Black community in Marion County was typically “below 20%” and that people should “not complain without taking action.”

“(We) must make sure the labor of our ancestors is not in vain,” he said.

Hawkins spoke about setting an example for youth and rather than only admonishing or correcting them, giving youth positive instruction.

Florida Congresswoman Yvonne Hinson called on the community to “stand in solidarity.”

Hinson mentioned CRT, or critical race theory, and decried the “dilution of African American history.” The Brookings Institute website states that CRT “has become a new bogeyman for people unwilling to acknowledge our country’s racist history and how it impacts the present.”

Barbara Fitos was recognized as the NAACP Freedom Fund Chair and chapter membership chair Herman Brown called for all members to participate.

“November 2024 (will be) the most controversial election in our lifetime and (we need) all hands on deck,” he said.

Brown said later that the local NAACP branch has 178 members.

Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano spoke about his own experience in “overcoming obstacles” and offered words of encouragement.

Katelyn McCullough, recognized as a member of the Marion County Youth Council, offered greetings, as did Fredna T. Wilkerson with the Marion County Panhellenic Council.

Ovedia Rhoulhac, pastor of Glorious Hope Christian Life Center, offered an invocation, A. Michelle Lamb provided vocals and keyboard music, and Beverly Braxton handled door prizes. Wantanisha Dawson Morant served as mistress of ceremonies.

Franklin Rich, the son of Mary Sue Rich, the namesake of the community center and local NAACP chapter member and former city councilwoman, said some recent changes in Florida registration laws amount to “voter suppression.” He said the Faith In Florida group had supplied cards at the banquet to facilitate voter registration.

Francine Julius Edwards, district aide to Hinson and a community advocate, was instrumental in coordinating distribution of voter registration information at the banquet. A local NAACP survey handed out at the banquet aimed to determine the “what issues will drive voters to the polls in 2024.”

Recent action by the Florida Legislature, includes CS/ SB 7050, which flsenate.gov describes as “Florida’s commitment to the integrity of elections” and “makes changes to enhance the accuracy of Florida’s voter rolls, and improves access to reports and data to boost voter confidence.”

The 2024 annual awards were presentation by handled by Edwards, Sarah M. Greene and Gwendolyn Dawson.

The Minority Business Award was presented to Alfonso and Davida Randolph, owners of Randolph’s Family Affair, Inc., a combined catering, printing and tax preparation business that serves people “from the heart,” the program stated.

The couple set up a nonprofit in 2019 that provides Thanksgiving and Christmas season food for the homeless and shopping trips and gift cards for youth, according to the program.

The 2024 Community Service Uplift Award was given to Rachael Drayton, a U.S. Army veteran who has served as an operating room technician and certified registered nurse Anesthetist. Drayton, who holds a Master of Science in nursing from Northeastern University, first entered the Army in 1988 and served until 1992, and also from 2006 to 2015, including deployment to Iraq in 2011. She attained the rank of captain.

Drayton has performed a mission trip to Haiti and serves as vice president of Black Nurses Rock! Ocala Florida Chapter and president of the Greater Gainesville Black Nurses Association. The organizations address “health disparities of people of color,” conducts health seminars and members distribute health information at events in Marion County, the program stated.

The 2024 Positive Social Awareness Award recipient was Barbara Brooks, founder and CEO of R.A.M.A.L. an educational and social nonprofit that has served Marion County for 15 years. The organization “fulfills its mission” with tutoring, scholarships for non-traditional college students and an endowment scholarship at the College of Central Florida.

Brooks is the co-founder of Chosen Children’s Christmas Party for at risk youth. She also is involved in Thanksgiving and Christmas help programs and distributing food and hygiene items to the homeless. R.A.M.A.L. is a member of several local organizations, including the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership and the Marion County Children’s Alliance.

Loretta Jenkins received the chapter President’s Award for “Perpetual Excellence,” which was presented by Stockton.

Jenkins and her husband, Whitfield Jenkins, who was recently recognized by the local branch as “Freedom Fighter of the Century,” are both past presidents of the Marion County NAACP Branch.

Loretta Jenkins said she “joined (the local branch) in 1989 and never looked back” in serving and doing.

DeNaya Wilkerson was presented the President’s “New, Now and Next Generation Award” by Stockton for stepping into the branch and doing “stellar and wonderful work.”

To learn more, go to FB.com/naacpofmarioncounty and naacp.org