Title
To recognize the 2010 Civil Rights Celebration sponsored by the Columbus NAACP in honor of Black History Month
Body
WHEREAS, the mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination; and
WHEREAS, for almost a century, the NAACP has fought for the rights of the disenfranchised through grass roots organizing, political action and judicial relief; and
WHEREAS, as the nation's oldest civil rights organization, the NAACP has forever changed American history and the discourse of equality; and
WHEREAS, the Columbus, Ohio branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was organized on February 18, 1915 in the Spring Street branch of the YMCA; and
WHEREAS, in honor of Black History Month, the Columbus NAACP is sponsoring the Civil Rights Celebration on February 26, 2010 at the King Arts Center; and
WHEREAS, the Civil Rights Celebration encourages academic excellence in area young people to think about equality for today and the future through a citywide student competition honoring a civil rights icon, and
WHEREAS, this year, students were asked to creatively depict the life of Mr. Samuel Plato, who became the first and only African American Architect (of his day) to receive government contracts to build post offices; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Plato designed and built a wide variety of buildings from New York to Alabama, eight of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places; and
WHEREAS, in Columbus, Mr. Plato is credited for the construction of the Pythian Theatre in the King Arts Complex, the very same theatre where the students will perform their understanding of his legacy; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council does hereby recognize the 2010 Civil Rights Celebration sponsored by the Columbus NAACP in honor of Black History Month.