Orange County NAACP ACT-SO Awards

Great applause and accolades to the Orange County NAACP and their citywide ACT-SO Awards Program on Saturday night, April 23, 2010 at the New Covenant Baptist Church in Orlando, Florida. Rev. Dr. Randolph Bracy is the Senior Pastor and Founder of New Covenant and also serves as the President of the Orange County NAACP. ACT-SO ...the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics...is a major youth initiative of the NAACP and is a highly spirited competition across a number of artistic disciplines. It is a yearlong enrichment program designed to recruit, stimulate, improve and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African American high school students. Gold medalists at the local level qualify for the national finals held each summer at the NAACP'S National Convention.

Orange County's ACT-SO featured more than 100 contestants. Yet, they were not contestants in the traditional sense of the word as much as they were talented artisans and artists. It was a distinct honor for me (and my wife Ann) to attend the program and bring a few words of encouragement to these distinguished young Black Award Winners. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Medals were awarded in the categories of Architecture, Biology, Microbiology, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Computer Science, Dance, Dramatics, Drawing, Earth and Space Sciences, Engineering, Entrepreneurship, Film making, Mathematics , Medicine and Health , Music Composition, Music Inst Classical, Music Inst Contemporary, Music Vocal Classical, Music Vocal Contemporary, Oratory, Original Essay, Painting, Photography, Physics, Play writing, Poetry, and Sculpture. Of course, all awards are based on the entrants in the various categories.

And the Winners are:

Category		Participant	Medal		School
Original Essay
		Gladys Murray	Gold		Cypress Creek
		Shelby Birch	Silver		Dr. Phillips
		Nikkia Tyler	Bronze		Dr. Phillips
Poetry
		Sarah R.T. Merine	Gold		Jones
		Duresny Nemorin	Silver (Gold eligibility – 2nd Place)		Jones
		Shelby Birch	Bronze (Gold eligibility – 3rd Place)		Dr. Phillips
Dance
		Schyler Drew	Gold		Freedom
Drama
		Denee Benton	Gold		Trinity Prep
		Faith Plowden	Silver (Gold eligibility – 2nd Place)		Ocoee
		Jakeem Powell	Bronze (Gold eligibility – 3rd Place)		Dr. Phillips
Vocal-classical
		Mikhail Thompson		Gold	Dr. Phillips
		Denee Benton	Silver		Trinity Prep
Vocal Contemporary
		Denee Benton	Gold		Trinity Prep
Musical Instrumental Contemporary
		Louis Blenbornes	Gold		Oakridge
Drawing
		Everett Jackson	Gold		Apopka
Photography
		Everett Jackson	Gold		Apopka
		Alexis Edmonds	Bronze		Dr. Phillips
Sculpture
		Everett Jackson	Gold		Apopka
Oratory
		Lucinda Howard	Gold		Jones
		Shelby Birch	Silver (Gold Eligibility – 2nd Place)		Dr. Phillips
		Jakeem Powell	Bronze		Dr. Phillips
Musical Instrumental Classical
		Cassie Hobbs	Gold		Cypress Creek
		Lissette Sanchez	Silver (Gold eligibility- 2nd Place)		Oakridge
		Jordan Jackson	Bronze		Oakridge
Engineering		Terrell Martin	Silver		Pasco County

Great applause of thanks and purpose to the Orange County NAACP ACT-SO Committee …Phedre M. Brown, Chair, LaVon P. Bracy, Co-Chair, Rev. Leroy Rose, III, Sandra Drew, Teasa Mays, Paulette Waugh, Nicole Dobson, and Rev. Bracy Jr. I commend all of you for mentoring and shepherding our "future brain trust".

And to my Good Friend Dr. Randolph Bracy... God imbued, endowed, and anointed you with Grace, and purpose to make a difference...and truly ordained and ordered your steps in doing a great work. Thank you for a job well done!!

Once to every man and nation
Comes the moment to decide
Then it is the brave man and woman who chooses
While the coward stands aside
Doubting in his abject spirit
‘Til his very Lord is crucified.
...James Lowell

The Struggle Continues…Rodney L. Hurst, Sr.

University of Central Florida Book Festival

Congratulations to President John Hitt and the Faculty, Staff and Students of the University of Central Florida for an outstanding Inaugural Book Festival.

Special accolades to Dr. Bob Williams, Ana Restrepo, Eric Brewington, Sharon McCloud, Brooke Taylor, Tiphanie Gonzalez, and Donna (I never got your last name ...and many, many others) in the Black and Gold Room... for your hospitality and great volunteerism spirit.

Special Special Thanks also to Dr. Carolyn Walker Hopp, who also volunteered her time and moderated the Civil Rights Book Panel which featured me, Richard Lapchick, and Batt Humphreys.

Richard Lapchick's book, 100 Pioneers: African-Americans Who Broke Color Barriers in Sport details those Black Athletes who were the trailblazers.

Batt Humphreys' book, Dead Weight deals with a 1910 lynching of an African American in South Carolina and is based on a true story.

And of course, my book, It was never about a hot dog and a Coke! which deals with the social and political climate of Jacksonville in the late Fifties and Early Sixties...the 1960 Sit-in Demonstrations...and Ax Handle Saturday.

Great job and Good Stuff!!!

50th Anniversary Commemoration of the 1960 Sit-in Demonstrations and Ax Handle Saturday

Look for additional announcements soon about the Commemorative Activities for the 1960 Sit-in Demonstrations and Ax Handle Saturday in Jacksonville, Florida.

Save the dates of August 25-28, 2010 on your calendar.

August 25
Welcome program

August 26
Guest speakers
major panel discussions
Civil Rights Films

August 27
NAACP Commemorative Mass Meeting at Bethel Baptist Institutional Church
Speaker: Rev. Rudolph W. McKissick Sr

August 28
Jacksonville Branch NAACP 45TH Annual Freedom Fund Dinner
Speaker: Kweisi Mfume

Look for further details soon.