More than 500 people gathered at Martin’s West on October 28 for the annual Baltimore NAACP Freedom Fund banquet. The atmosphere was both somber and festive with the organization paying special tribute to the nation’s veterans.
“Although we honored a wide variety of leaders, we wanted to take some time out this year to really thank the men and women in the military for their sacrifice on behalf of our country,” said Tessa Hill-Aston, the chairperson of the Freedom Fund Banquet Committee.
Active Reserve veteran and elected public servant, Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, gave the keynote address as well as served as the honorary chair of the banquet.
“Almost all of our families have been touched by service in the military,” said Lt. Governor Brown.
“I am so honored to be a part of honoring our veterans. It makes sense when you think about it. The NAACP fights to secure and maintain our civil rights and our men and women in the armed services do the same thing here at home and abroad,” he added.
Sergeant Kendell K. Frederick was posthumously awarded a Thurgood Marshall award for his courageous service in Iraq and for making the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of his adopted nation.
Frederick was a native of Trinidad who joined the Army Reserves prior to becoming a United States citizen. He was killed by a roadside bomb in 2005 and became the inspiration for the Kendell Frederick Citizenship Assistance Act of 2007, which fast-tracks citizenship applications for service members. His mother, Michelle Murphy, graciously accepted the award on his behalf.
“Thank you for honoring my son,” said Ms. Murphy. “He was a dynamic young man and I am so very proud of him.”
Among the 2009 NAACP honorees: Dean Phoebe Haddon, UM School of Law; Dr. Joe Hairston, Superintendent of Baltimore County Schools; Curtis Etherly Jr., Vice President of Public Affairs for Coca-Cola; Arnold Jolivet, President and CEO of the American Minority Contractors and Business Associations; Shelton Redden, Grand Master of Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Ancient Masons of Maryland; Brenda Clayburn, President of the City Union of Baltimore; Glenard Middleton Sr., Executive Director of AFSCME Council 67; Hayden Moore, President and CEO of The Watkins Group; Wayne Frazier Sr., President of the Maryland Washington Minority Contractions Association; Dr. Carla Hayden, CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library System; and Randolph Phipps, president/owner of Phipps Construction Contractors.
“I am so proud of this banquet,” said Branch President Dr. Marvin “Doc” Cheatham. “Every year I am so amazed by the community support and the great turnout. It is an affirmation that we are on the right path,” he added.
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