The local branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will begin a series of events celebrating its 90th anniversary Tuesday, June 26th at 7 p.m. at the Greater Middle Baptist Church at 4982 Knight Arnold Road.
Former NAACP executive director Julian Bond will deliver the evening’s keynote address. Local NAACP leader Johnnie Turner says that past presidents of the local chapter will be recognized.
Turners adds that Tuesday’s ceremony begins a series of events that will culminate in January of next year.
The NAACP was founded in 1909. Robert Church Jr. helped begin the Memphis chapter in response to the lynching of black laborer Ell Persons in May 1917.