Burke NAACP Youth Council reborn after two dormant decades

After more than two decades of dormancy, the Youth Council of the Burke County Chapter of the NAACP has been reborn.

The Rev. Alicia Connelly, president of the Burke chapter, said 75 young people from around the county have signed up for membership since the national NAACP organization approved the application for reactivation.

“This is a joyous occasion,” said Connelly of the youth council’s reactivation. “We have been working for more than two years to get this application approved and to get the council going again.”

Eventually, Connelly explained, the membership of the council will be broken down into more age-specific categories.

These include:

• A Junior Youth Council for those 13 and younger.
• A High School Chapter to prepare high school students for mobilization and community education.
• A College Chapter which will serve, Connelly said, “as an incubator of political thought and social activism.”
• And finally, Youth Council which will provide training and development for young adults under the age of 25.

The national purpose of the youth councils, Connelly said, “is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race by developing a new generation of civil rights and community leaders.”

Connelly noted that getting young people to participate in a new organization is a challenge because many of them are already active in church and school activities.

Those without drivers licenses, she added, are often dependent upon their parents to drive them to meetings and other activities.

“It’s a challenge,” Connelly said, “but it’s a challenge we believe we can meet because it is so important that we do so.

“What we want to do,” she continued, “is train these young people up, train them to be leaders. Not leaders of the future, but leaders now!”

Official election of officers for the new council will come later this summer, Connelly said.

Connelly is also hopeful that in the future local council members will be involved in the Afro-Academic Cultural, Technical, Scientific, and Olympics program (ACT-SO).

ACT-SO is a year-round achievement program designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among high school students.

The National ACT-SO competition is the annual culmination of this effort, held each year during the NAACP National Convention where students compete for scholarships, prizes, and recognition.

In addition, the National NAACP is committed to its NEXTGEN Leadership Program that provides comprehensive leadership and advocacy training for young adults who wish to become the next generation of civil rights leaders.

“We’re excited that all of these opportunities and more will now be available to members of the NAACP Burke County Youth Council,” Connelly concluded.