The St. Louis County Branch of the NAACP announced that it will host an annual observance celebration of the life and legacy of Rosa Parks this month.
On Feb. 24, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) will host the event at 10:30 a.m. at Hazelwood School District’s Jamestown Elementary School. Around 300 community leaders, children and parents are expected to attend this celebratory event.
Esther Haywood, branch president of the St. Louis County NAACP, said this event is not only a celebration but a learning opportunity for the younger generation of St. Louis residents.
“As a state representative, I fought for years so the state of Missouri would honor the inspiring legacy of Rosa Parks,” Haywood said in a written statement. “I am so pleased that we can celebrate Mrs. Park’s accomplishments and teach younger members of our community about a leader who selflessly risked everything to bring society forward.”
NAACP National Board of Director Chairman Emeritus and Rosa Parks Civil Rights Legend Honoree Roslyn M. Brock will be the keynote speaker for the event. Dr. Brock is a health care executive whose work in civil rights and healthcare advocacy is known across the globe.
Brock has been an active member of the NAACP for nearly three decades before becoming chairman. She also founded the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit, as a recruitment and training initiative to inspire a new generation of civil rights leaders. Brock also developed and directed the board’s historic policy decision to support urgent, impactful issues such as marriage equality and The Black Church and HIV: The Social Justice Imperative.
According to the NAACP, Brock’s impact extends globally, as she built cross-cultural understanding and professional networks with young leaders in China as a Young Leaders Fellow with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
Originally founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members can be found around the United States and throughout the world.
