Editor’s Note: Press Releases are provided to Yellow Scene. In an effort to keep our community informed, we publish some press releases in whole.

Vision Statement

The Vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination.

Congratulations!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute Concert and Humanitarian Awards

Humanitarian recipients have come from all walks of life, but each has been driven, as Dr. King was, by the desire to help and make the world a better place.

Our very own Minister Glenda Strong Robinson has been selected by the 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission to receive The Honorable Menola Upshaw Lifetime Achievement Award for 2023 for living out the purposes of the Commission and dedicating her life’s work to keeping Dr. King’s Dream Alive.  This Award is presented to those who actively desire to help and make the world a better place.  She believes that we do this by “using our differences to make a difference!”

This honor and celebration will take place on Tuesday, January 10, 2023, at Boettcher Concert Hall at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Complex in downtown Denver. There will be a concert by the Denver Symphony and a meal beginning around 5:30 p.m. that is free and open to the public on a first come first served basis.  Check for definite by visiting the website at drmartinlkingjrchc.org.

Since the early 90s, Minister Robinson has been providing Dr. MLK, Jr. programs throughout the Boulder Valley to educate the communities on the price that has been paid for the freedoms we enjoy and what folks can do to become that “beloved community” that Dr. King fervently described. He said, “Our lives begin to end the moment we become silent about things that matter.”

The purpose of the Statewide Dr. MLK, Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission is to unify and educate communities within the State of Colorado and encourage appropriate observations, ceremonies, and activities in commemoration of the federal holiday and state legal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout all the towns, cities, school districts, counties, and local governments within Colorado.  Please tune in to all the Festivities of the Week Sponsored by the 2023 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Colorado Holiday Commission.

Announcements

Towards Health Equity:  Saving Lives of Black Mothers & Infants

Maternal morbidity and mortality rates are rising in the United States (“U.S.”), and the U.S. has one of the largest. Sister-to-Sister:  International Network of Professional African American Women, Inc. (“Sister-to-Sister, Inc.“), a Colorado incorporated, tax-exempt public charity, strives to raise Coloradoans’ consciousness concerning morbidity and mortality among Black women, as they experience the highest disproportionality of deaths, chronic complications post-pregnancy, and early death. Reliable data conclusively evidence that, across all income spectrums, education levels, and employment levels, pregnant Black women are three times more likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to die in childbirth. They further reflect that Black newborns are twice as likely as white newborns, to die during their first year.

On January 21, 2023, Sister-to-Sister, Inc. is hosting a private screening of Aftershock, an award-winning documentary that highlights the public health crisis presented by toll on African American women’s lives based on inequitable healthcare. This event is free and open to the public. Register at Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/aftershock-free-screening-of-the-documentary-tickets-494011009227.

On February 25, 2023, Sister-to-Sister, Inc.“, will host the “Towards Health Equity:  Saving Lives of Black Mothers and Infants” Inaugural Educational Fundraising Gala. Ms. Dayna Bowen Matthew, J.D., Ph.D., the first African American and female dean of The George Washington School of Law, a Senior Fellow at the Brooking Institute, a recognized scholar in the field of racial and ethnic disparities in health and healthcare, and the author of two authoritative treatises, “Just Medicine:  A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Health Care,” “Just Health: Treating Structural Racism to Heal America”, will deliver the keynote address.

Did You Know?

January 2023

Pele, by name of Edson Arantes do Nascimento, born October 23, 1940—died December 29, 2022 in Brazil. The Brazilian-born soccer legend and National Treasure became a worldwide phenomenon. Pele passed away on 12/29/2022. The combination of Pele’s incomparable soccer skills and his radiant, gentle smile made him an international star and champion for peace. Pele is defined today as the greatest soccer player in the history of the game. Pele played soccer in the US for the New York Cosmos during the 1975 NASL Season. He was acknowledged as one of the biggest sports figures of this past century.

Glenda S. Robinson
Branch Historian
NAACP Boulder County Branch

Civic Engagement Committee

The Civic Engagement Committee is in need of a chair person.

For question and how to become more involved, contact Cherry-Rose Anderson: cherry.boulder.[email protected]

Coloradans for the Common Good  (CCG)

CCG Delegates’ Assembly

When: Thu Jan 26, 2023 6:30pm – 8pm (MST)
Where: TBD

Please hold this date and time for CCG”s first delegates’ assembly of 2023. The Delegates’ Assembly is a gathering of the leadership of the organization (members from your institution that are engaged in CCG’s work) to reflect on the status of the organization, make commitments to one another regarding membership dues and other activities for the year, and approve the organization’s budget. It is important to have representative delegation from all member institutions at this gathering. I will be attending this assembly and will be driving down.  Anyone interested in attending this assembly, too, can ride with me.  It is requested that we have at least 2 representatives attending.  Please contact me at: [email protected] if you would like to attend.

Communications Committee

It’s a new year and Black Talk is taking up a long-standing crisis: racialized healthcare. Our guest, Dayna Bowen Matthew, JD, Ph.D., will talk to us about the racial, ethnic, economic, and social determinants and disparities in America’s healthcare system. Dean Matthew is currently the Dean and Harold H. Greene Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School in the nation’s capital. Dean Matthew was a CU law school professor and vice dean, a member of the Center for Bioethics Humanities on the Anschutz Medical Center campus, and held a joint appointment at the Colorado School of Public Health and co-founded the Colorado Health Equity Project. We will learn how Dean Matthew’s intersectional approach to tackling racial inequalities in health, housing, and education, conspire and inspired the content of her two books, Just Medicine: A Cure for Racial Inequality in American Healthcare (2018 and Just Health: Treating Structural Racism to Heal America (2022). Dean Matthew will be in Colorado on 21 January 2023, as the featured guest of Sister-to-Sister, an international network of professional African American women.

Please be sure to tune into the next edition of Black Talk on KGNU 88.5 FM, Thursday, 12 January 2023 at 8:32 am.

If you’ve missed any shows, look for them at, Black Talk on KGNU.  Remember: Black Talk airs on KGNU 88.5FM the second Thursday of every month at 8:32am – 9:30 am.

Join the Communications Committee! We need people who are interested in flexing their creativity muscles to create videos and podcasts, photography, writing, and graphics. Contact me if you are interested in joining this great team.

Sandra B. Daniel
media.naacpbouldercounty@gmail.com

Criminal Justice Committee

Anyone interested in joining the criminal justice committee should reach out to Darren O’Connor, the chair, at [email protected]. The committee meets the third Wednesday of the month at 5:30 PM via Zoom.

Economic Opportunity Committee

This quarter brings Sonoma Pharma, City of Boulder Department of Economic Vitality and Parlando School of Music as new corporate members of NAACP Boulder County. Welcome!

NAACP Boulder County’s Economic Opportunity Committee will be starting off 2023 by conducting an in-depth survey of Black owned businesses/professionals in the area.  Please contact Jude at econopps.[email protected] about Black owned businesses and/or professionals in the area that would like to participate. Our goal is to gather a comprehensive and in-depth directory of the county’s Black owned businesses and professionals.  The NAACP BC survey is looking to determine what the most pressing needs of local Black owned businesses and professionals are to accurately access priorities and determine the most effective outcomes.  We want to be of practical service to ensure success of Black owned businesses and support of Black professionals in our local communities.

Economic Opportunity is asking for an interested NAACP Boulder County member to be our representative for Boulder Chamber events and opportunities.  It’s a job for someone interested in business and well-able to represent the needs and values of our organization to Boulder Chamber members.

We are working on the first quarter Black Talk:  Race in the Workplace networking event.  These events are geared for the business community and highlight common race in the workplace issues. Topics focus on workplace culture, hiring and retention for businesses and non-profit organizations.  NAACP is able to tackle these issues forthrightly, with candor as well as providing practical tools for increasing success with DEI goals.  We are intent on building our community with diversity and increasing the cultural competency of our community.

Economic Opportunity is soliciting sponsorships from the business community for our annual Freedom Fund event at Macky Auditorium, on February 19^th, presenting the Nashville African American Wind Symphony.  Sponsorship provides an opportunity for businesses to be recognized for their support of our Branch and our mission.

Economic Opportunity meets on the 2^nd Wednesday of the month at 12:30 pm via zoom.  NAACP members are welcome to attend any of our meetings.  Contact Jude at econopps.[email protected] for a zoom link.

Education Committee

Due to the holidays, there is no December meeting of the Education Committee. The next meeting will be Monday, January 16, 2023 at 6:30 p.m. We encourage you to join us even if you are not a member of the committee. Please contact the Education Committee, for the Zoom link or for information about upcoming events: [email protected].

Environmental & Climate Justice Committee

All NAACP Boulder branch members with an interest in environmental justice are invited to participate in a free webinar series on environmental justice hosted by the Black Parents United Foundation of Aurora. Please reach out to Sheila Davis ([email protected]) for details.

The Environmental Justice Committee will participate in activities hosted by the RMNAACP State Environmental Justice Chair. Details will be shared soon.

Freedom Fund Committee

2023 Freedom Fund and Black History Planning:

• Theme: Celebrating Black History- Uplifting the Community Through Artistic Expression
• The 2023 Freedom Fund will feature the Nashville African American Wind Symphony. The concert will occur on February 19, 2023, at 3:00 pm in the Macky Auditorium. Reception immediately follows.
• Additional events to celebrate Black History Month 2023 will feature a celebration of six spectacular African American artists who will showcase their art in various locations throughout Boulder, Longmont, Lafayette, and Lyons.

Please contact the chair,  Madelyn Woodley at [email protected] for any questions.

Post-Secondary Education Task Force

The Center for African & African American Studies (CAAAS)

We are on target with our chapter fundraising commitment.  Following the close of the CU Fall 2022 semester the Task Force and CU Advancement will review our chapter’s strategy to raise and hopefully exceed our $500,000 five-year goal.

Please click on the following  link for the latest CAAAS Newsletter.

Save the date:  February 1, 2023.  The CAAAS’ grand opening is scheduled for February 1, 2023, 4-6pm in the Macky Auditorium Gallery.

For additional CAAAS upcoming events please consult your CAAAS Newsletter.

Religious Affairs Committee