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What: NAACP Jubilee CelebrationWhen: 3 p.m. SundayWhere: First Baptist Church at 516 E. 8th St.
Recently elected officers of the Chattanooga Hamilton County NAACP
President – Dr. Elenora Woods2nd Vice President – Quenston Coleman3rd Vice President – Janet HardinThe NAACP is accepting resumes to fill the positions of secretary and treasurer.
Retired Hamilton County commissioner and former Second Missionary Baptist Church pastor the Rev. Paul McDaniel wants to remind people that, despite any concerns about the incoming presidential administration, God is still sovereign.
“I don’t know how I’ll be led, but the basic thought is regardless of how folks may feel about the coming administration, as people of God we should still recognize that God is in control and he has not abdicated his power over all the earth,” McDaniel said.
He will be the guest speaker at the Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP’s annual Jubilee Celebration at 3 p.m. Sunday at First Baptist Church on East Eighth Street.
McDaniel challenged residents to labor for the good of their neighbors.
“We must continue to work toward the sort of community God desires for us and we desire for ourselves as his people,” he said.
The Jubilee Celebration commemorates Jan. 1, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that changed the federal legal status of enslaved people from slave to free in designated areas of the South.
“We hope we pack the house on Sunday,” said newly re-elected local NAACP President Dr. Elenora Woods.
Woods encourages those who have let their membership expire or who want to join the NAACP for the first time to do so during the Jubilee.
The theme of the event is “Breaking the Yoke,” taken from the Bible verse Nahum 1:13.
The yoke is like a strong hold that symbolizes affliction and trouble, Woods said.
“Chattanooga is in that position,” she said. “We have some of the highest crime statistics for a city of our size in the country. Right now, the state is on the verge of taking over our public schools in our poorest communities, affecting a majority of African-American kids. And we have one of the worse housing situations with the need for affordable housing.”
Woods said she also wants to discuss the need for more blacks in law enforcement. She said she is pleased to see the number of blacks promoted as captains on the police force, but the number of blacks on the force is still not proportionate to the local black population.
As result of the local NAACP election in November, a new slate of officers will be installed during the Jubilee Celebration.
Woods plans to give her vision for the next two years on what she wants the NAACP.
“I welcome the newness, because with newness you get new ideas, new opportunities and a new way of seeing things,” she said.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.