NAACP Founder’s Day 2011

In 2011, Touchstones partnered with the Anne Arundel County Branch of the NAACP to bring extended Founder’s Day programming to the citizens in the county. About 35 people attended a half-day of reflection and discussion that looked forward to the NAACP’s next 100 years. Following an invocation from Reverend Henry Green and a welcome from the County branch’s President, Jacqueline Boone Allsup, the group shared recollections of inspirational personal journeys that chronicle the tremendous change in our country’s attitudes, beliefs, and laws relating to race relations.

This laid the groundwork for an extended Touchstones discussion on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” during which the participants looked closely at what has been gained and considered what is still needed to ensure a civil society in which all citizens have equal access and equal protection. Among the questions asked and considered were how to engage younger generations in continued progress in civil rights, what specific actions and activities will advance the on-going conversation about race relations, and whether technology and changes in our community structures demand entirely new approaches for successful communication on these issues.