- May 2, 2024
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Dr. Rosalind Osgood, Florida senator, was the keynote speaker. Pictured with Dr. Phyllis Pearson, president of the Flagler County NAACP. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Dr. Phyllis Pearson, president of the Flagler County NAACP. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Dr. Rosalind Osgood, John Winston, Darryl Boyer, Dr. Phyllis Pearson and Shelley Ragsdale. Courtesy photo
Darryl Boyer embraces John Winston, who has been his mentor since he was a child, as has Dr. Phyllis Pearson. Courtesy photo
Dr. Rosalind Osgood, with Dr. Myra Middleton, Dr. Phyllis Pearson and Dr. Yvette Edghill Spano. Middleton and Spano received NAACP Silver Life Awards on Oct. 14. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Jerusha Logan won the Community Engagement Award on Oct. 14. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Shelley Ragsdale and Everett Jackson (represented in the photo by his wife, Anita Jackson) received Student Scholarship Fundraiser awards Oct. 14. Courtesy photo
Dave Sullivan, Flagler County commissioner, received a Community Engagement Award from the NAACP on Oct. 14. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Robert Whiting earned an Educational Excellence Award from the NAACP on Oct. 14. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Dr. Rosalind Osgood, Florida Senator from District 32, delivered the keynote address at the Flagler County NAACP event Oct. 14. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Shane Groth and Dave Williams represented the Bunnell Police Department and Flagler County Sheriff's Office, respectively, at the NAACP event Oct. 14. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
John Winston, with Samantha Brown, Youth Council Adviser. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
John Winston with Flagler County School Board member Cheryl Massaro. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Bunnell City Manager Dr. Alvin Jackson and Mayor Catherine Robinson. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
Shelley Ragsdale, past president of Flagler County NAACP. Courtesy photo
Dr. Phyllis Pearson with Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin. Photos by Shelley Ragsdale
It’s great to talk. It’s even greater to act.
The NAACP Freedom Fund Awards Luncheon, held Oct. 14 at the African American Cultural Society Center on U.S. 1 in Bunnell, was replete with calls to action, as community leaders asked attendees to encourage youth and promote truth.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Rosalind Osgood, Florida senator from District 32, in Broward County.
Speaking of the youth of our community, she said, “We have to be intentional about celebrating the marvelous things they are doing.”
Osgood, who once was homeless and battling addiction before getting an education and getting elected to the Florida Senate, said she has worked to have “tough conversations” with Republican legislators across the aisle. For example, the term “woke” means different things to different people; by talking openly about it with a few of her colleagues, she was able to understand better why Republicans felt so passionate about stopping “woke,” and she was able to explain why being “woke” meant something like being "responsible," to her.
The legislators agreed to stop using the term completely, Osgood said.
“I didn’t want to offend them, and they didn’t want to offend me,” she added.
Osgood said our actions and our desires need to be in harmony: “What we see in the mirror and what we are in our hearts have to be the same.”
She also condemned racism and championed teaching the history of slavery.
“We deal with our moral error by being truthful about it,” she said. “It is history that gives us empirical evidence of lessons learned, of history we should never repeat.”
Osgood ended her speech by starting a sing-along, "Woke up this Morning with my Mind on Freedom." The crowd joined in, and she walked off the stage, clapping and singing along with the audience, and then was the first one to sit down, as the crowd remained on its feet, giving her a standing ovation.
The awards luncheon began with remarks by Dr. Phyllis Pearson, president of the Flagler County NAACP. John Winston, past president of the African American Mentoring Program, was master of ceremonies.
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, symbolically holding hands with Pearson, read an official proclamation from the city and praised the NAACP for helping to give the city a “sense of hope.”
“It’s action on the ground that’s going to make a difference,” Pearson added.
Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson, who was attending high school in Flagler County in the 1970s when the schools were desegregated, said, “We can all do this together.”
School Board chairwoman Cheryl Massaro addressed the attendees, saying, “It takes a village. And you are a big part of this village.”
Award recipients
