The Bowling Green Warren County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is hosting the statewide organization’s annual convention this month.
It'll be the organization’s first in-person convention since the pandemic.
This year’s convention will be held on Western Kentucky University’s campus on September 16-17. The last convention was in Paducah in 2019.
Ryan Dearbone, president of the Bowling Green Warren County branch of the NAACP, said this will be the first statewide convention his branch has hosted in decades.
“We’ll have sessions that will be focus on education, communication, environmental justice, legal redress, criminal justice,” Dearbone said.
A youth and college program will also be available.
“Whether is college aged or elementary or high school, this will allow youth to do something a little bit different because the sessions that we have for adults may not translate all the way over to young people," Dearbone said.
This year, the organization is opening registration to those who aren’t members of the civil rights group.
Dearbone told WKU Public Radio that the convention is open for anyone who wants to learn more about the NAACP or who has an interest in this year’s topics.
The convention is also for people who feel that they are disenfranchised.
“You can learn how to change the narrative or come to us and be able to tell us ‘Hey. Here’s something that’s going on in the community or I feel needs to be addressed.’ It gives us a platform to talk about it, to learn about it, and hopefully address it the ways that can make meaningful change,” Dearbone explained.
A soul food dinner, a gospel celebration, and a freedom fund dinner are apart of the convention as well.
More information can be found on the Bowling Green Warren County branch’s website.
