Springfield, MO—The Springfield NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet was held on October 16, 2021 at the Oasis Convention Center. The room was filled with over 350 diverse guests representing this year’s theme of “Moving Forward.”
Kaijuanda Sutton, NAACP Chapter President, was the MC for the event. Taj Suleyman, City of Springfield’s Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, was the keynote speaker. Taj introduced the audience to what he called his “secret sauce”. His sauce was derived from the African philosophy called “Ubuntu.” Ubuntu values community, respect, peace, dignity, love, acceptance, sharing and more. The secret sauce was a call to challenge the community to make Springfield a place where everyone could feel a sense of belonging. Taj emphasized that in order to really move forward we must work together to make Springfield a place we all can proudly call “home”.
Former NAACP President, Cheryl Clay, was presented the Lifetime Achievement award along with a check for $1,000. Many individuals and organizations were recognized for their awesome contributions to our Springfield community including:
2021 NAACP Drum Major Award — Christie Love
2021 NAACP Community Service Award — Lincoln Memorial
Cemetery Board
2021 NAACP Marley Dias Youth Award — Tyler Thompson
2021 NAACP WEB DuBois Education Award — (2 Winners) Jasmine Allen and Lola Butcher
2021 NAACP Special Honorable Mention JoLynn Higgins
Also recognized was Dee
Ogilvy, banquet committee
member.
