The Corpus Christi chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is gearing up to celebrate the 100th anniversary of its H. Boyd Hall Chapter. The celebration, dubbed the 100 Year Jubilee Celebration Program, will take place Sunday, Jan. 19 at the American Bank Center in Corpus Christi, and features PVAMU president Ruth Simmons as the keynote speaker.

The NAACP was first founded in 1909 with the mission to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons, and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Itā€™s the largest, and most widely recognized civil rights organization in the U.S., with more than half-million members and supporters throughout the country.

Although the NAACP itself has been around for 110 years, the Corpus Christi chapter is marking its 100th, or ā€œJubileeā€ year, Terry Mills, president of the NAACPā€™s Corpus Christi chapter, noted.

ā€œWe are very excited to have Dr. Simmons as our guest speaker for many reasons, but primarily because she is a strong, educated African-American woman, and when she speaks, people listen,ā€ Mills said. ā€œShe is level-minded and grounded and will get her point across in a big way. She is also very approachable and makes it clear that young people and their education come first.ā€

The event will also feature John Sharp, chancellor at Texas A&M University and Texas state senator Juan ā€œChuyā€ Hinojosa. Mills noted that organizers expect more than 1,000 people to attend, including several PVAMU alumni from the East Coast and the West Coast.

ā€œWe are so excited for these leaders to join in helping us say thank you to the NAACP, and we are grateful that Prairie View A&M University is playing a part in making a difference in upholding the organizationā€™s mission,ā€ Mills said.

By Emilia Benton