'Action on the ground': NAACP Flagler County celebrates freedom fighters

The annual luncheon in Bunnell welcomed Sen. Dr. Rosalind Osgood, of Broward County, as the keynote speaker.

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It’s great to talk. It’s even greater to act.

The NAACP Freedom Fund Awards Luncheon, held Oct. 14 at the African American Cultural Society Center on U.S. 1 in Bunnell, was replete with calls to action, as community leaders asked attendees to encourage youth and promote truth.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Rosalind Osgood, Florida senator from District 32, in Broward County. 

Speaking of the youth of our community, she said, “We have to be intentional about celebrating the marvelous things they are doing.”

Osgood, who once was homeless and battling addiction before getting an education and getting elected to the Florida Senate, said she has worked to have “tough conversations” with Republican legislators across the aisle. For example, the term “woke” means different things to different people; by talking openly about it with a few of her colleagues, she was able to understand better why Republicans felt so passionate about stopping “woke,” and she was able to explain why being “woke” meant something like being "responsible," to her.

The legislators agreed to stop using the term completely, Osgood said.

“I didn’t want to offend them, and they didn’t want to offend me,” she added.

Osgood said our actions and our desires need to be in harmony: “What we see in the mirror and what we are in our hearts have to be the same.”

She also condemned racism and championed teaching the history of slavery.

“We deal with our moral error by being truthful about it,” she said. “It is history that gives us empirical evidence of lessons learned, of history we should never repeat.”

Osgood ended her speech by starting a sing-along, "Woke up this Morning with my Mind on Freedom." The crowd joined in, and she walked off the stage, clapping and singing along with the audience, and then was the first one to sit down, as the crowd remained on its feet, giving her a standing ovation.

The awards luncheon began with remarks by Dr. Phyllis Pearson, president of the Flagler County NAACP. John Winston, past president of the African American Mentoring Program, was master of ceremonies.

Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, symbolically holding hands with Pearson, read an official proclamation from the city and praised the NAACP for helping to give the city a “sense of hope.”

“It’s action on the ground that’s going to make a difference,” Pearson added.

Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson, who was attending high school in Flagler County in the 1970s when the schools were desegregated, said, “We can all do this together.”

School Board chairwoman Cheryl Massaro addressed the attendees, saying, “It takes a village. And you are a big part of this village.”


Award recipients

  • Educational Excellence: Robert Whiting, LaShakia Moore
  • Communication and Civic Engagement: Shelley Ragsdale and David Sullivan
  • Student Scholarship Fundraiser: Everett Jackson and Shelley Ragsdale, who helped to raise enough money to ensure that all $13,000 of the golf tournament proceeds benefited students directly this year, rather than most of the money paying for the event.
  • NAACP Silver Life Awards: Dr. Myra Valentine and Dr. Yvette Edghill Spano
  • Community Engagement Award: Jerusha Logan

 

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