Advocacy and Issues

Portage County NAACP Branch

P.O. Box 309 I Ravenna, Ohio 44266

Please print, complete and mail in or give us a call and we will assist you.

Advocacy and Issues

Scholarships

Each year the NAACP, provides scholarships to outstanding students. It is the duty of our dedicated Scholarship Committee to determine the most outstanding individuals to receive these awards. The NAACP does not provide financial aid to individuals, only scholarships through this process.

NAACP STRATEGIC PLAN: GAME CHANGERS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

For more than a century the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has worked to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Inspired by the force and commitment of The Call of 1909, which denounced the growing oppression of people of color and mobilized thousands to work to bring this discrimination to an end, the NAACP seeks to establish a strategic direction as it embarks on developing The New Call for the 21st Century.

In the fall of 2011, the NAACP launched a process to develop its strategic direction and plan, creating a powerful vision for the future, and setting organizational goals that would focus its work for the 21st Century.

The six NAACP Game Changers below address the major areas of inequality facing African Americans that are the focus of the NAACP’s work.

Economic Sustainability
A chance to live the American Dream for all
Every person will have equal opportunity to achieve economic success, sustainability, and financial security. Learn more.

Education
A free, high-quality, public education for all. Every child will receive a free, high quality, equitably-funded, public pre-K and K-12 education followed by diverse opportunities for accessible, affordable vocational or university education. Learn more.

Health
Health equality for all Americans including a healthy life and high-quality health care. Everyone will have equal access to affordable, high-quality health care, and racially disparate health outcomes will end. Learn more.

Public Safety and Criminal Justice
Equitable dispensation of justice for all. Disproportionate incarceration, racially motivated policing strategies, and racially biased, discriminatory, and mandatory minimum sentencing will end. Incarceration will be greatly reduced and communities will be safer. The death penalty will be abolished at the state and federal level, as well as in the military. Learn more.

Voting Rights and Political Representation
Protect and enhance voting rights and fair representation
Every American will have free, open, equal, and protected access to the vote and fair representation at all levels of the political process. By protecting democracy, enhancing equity, and increasing democratic participation and civic engagement, African Americans will be proportionally elected to political office. Learn more.

Expanding Youth and Young Adult Engagement

The NAACP is expanding the presence of youth consciousness in every aspect of the Association through significant attention to expanding engagement with key age demographic (1979 and after). Young adult engagement will be key in policy research, development and advocacy on all levels. Greater support is being made to enhance the capacity of local units to recruit, engage, train and retain young adults. Innovative approaches are being taken on young adult membership and program engagement. Learn more.

Making these game changers a reality will require the Board of Directors’ leadership, broad outreach in venues such as regional and state conferences, an effective program to educate national, state, and local leaders about the plan and participation of the units.