The Arlington branch of the NAACP has announced award recipients who will be honored at its Oct. 28 Freedom Fund banquet, to be held in an online setting.
Brad Haywood, the Arlington County public defender, will be presented with the Charles P. Monroe Civil Rights Award. Macedonia Baptist Church and Lamont West, chair of its trustee ministry, will be presented with the Willard W. Brittain Community Appreciation Award for collective efforts at combating COVID in the community. Wilma Jones will be honored with the Henry L. Holmes Meritorious Service Award.
Members of the 2020-21 Wakefield High School varsity football squad will be presented with the inaugural Esther G. Cooper Civil Rights Activist of the Year Award for their efforts to confront racial behaviors. The award is named in honor of Esther Cooper, who served as first branch president of the Arlington NAACP beginning in 1940.
The Freedom Fund banquet is now in its 74th year. “Rooted firmly in the traditions of the Arlington branch NAACP, this virtual celebration will highlight activists and organizations working to make Arlington a more equitable community,” said organization president Julius “J.D.” Spain Sr.
For information, see the Website at www.arlingtonnaacp.com/2021-freedom-fund-virtual-banquet.