NAACP unites adults, kids to honor King

When the guest speaker of Sunday's NAACP event heard Wendell Shelby-Wallace, 19, give his own closing remarks, he jumped up and down and whooped for the teenager's resonant voice and message.

Just a few minutes earlier, Shelby-Wallace had described his excitement that the same speaker, Danna Andrus, or “Dr. Truth,” was able to attend the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day ceremony.

That was just one example of the way the adults and youths of Terrebonne Parish's NAACP showed support for each other Sunday evening, when this year's theme was Courage Will Not Skip This Generation.

The group has held a celebration that pays homage to King and his ideas for about 20 years, said Diana Collins, the Terrebonne NAACP's youth director.

“So many (local black) kids are giving up,” Collins said of this year's theme. “Some of them don't have the courage to fight. They don't know where we come from and where we're going. Without that courage, they're going to fail.”

The event, sponsored by the group's Youth Council, included speeches and musical and dance performances from adults and children alike.

The Youth Council expressed gratitude for its directors and leaders, and the adults said the same for the children.

Many of the evening's speakers, which included elected officials, touched on their concern for the future of many black youths while noting that they are encouraged by many children and teenagers they know.

Parish School Board member Gregory Harding implored Youth Council members to focus on their studies in order to succeed.

Andrus, a pastor, motivational speaker and relationship counselor who hails from New Orleans, gave the keynote address.