Copyright Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Staten Island Chapter held its annual William A. Morris Freedom Fund luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bloomfield on Saturday. This year’s milestone event marked the group’s 100th anniversary, celebrating a century of leadership, advocacy, and ongoing efforts to promote racial and social justice. In 1925, William A. Morris founded and became the first president of the Staten Island chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Nicole Myers, a Staten Island native and graduate of Empire State University and Baruch College, was sworn in as the chapter’s president for the 2026–28 program year, ushering the organization into its second century of civil rights advocacy. Meyers had worried about the turnout due to all the negative things happening in the world today. “I’m glad that so many thought it was so important to be a part of the NCAAP’s celebration here on Staten Island,” she said. She underscored the event’s theme of intergenerational connection and the importance of involving youth to carry on the organization’s legacy by having the youth council lead a museum display about the chapter’s history. “We thought it was so important to enrich and ingrain in their own lives, their everyday lives, the importance of the NAACP, the legacy that they, too, will leave one day,” Meyers added. Honored at the luncheon were individuals and organizations who have made invaluable contributions to the community: Rossville AME Zion Church. Sandy Ground Historical Society. Frederick Douglass Memorial Park. NaiLah Simmons. The event also featured live performances by the Brighton Heights Reformed Church Youth Orchestra and The Mighty Kamm Band. Many guests and community leaders attended, including Hon. Judge Ronald A. Gregg and his wife, Daisy Olivencia-Gregg, Chief Experience Officer, Staten Island JCC; Richmond County Public Administrator Edwina Frances Martin; Assemblymember Sam Pirozzolo; former North Shore Councilmember Debi Rose, Rev. Terry Troia, CEO of Project Hospitality; Rev. Dale Smith, pastor of First Central Baptist Church; Edward C. Josey who served as the organization’s president from 1997-2025; Minnie Graham; Clara Sue Ogburn; Virginia Allen; Shaw’nae Dixon; Rudolph Stradford, 92, the oldest member of the 369th Veterans Association; and members of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Yvonne Patricia Parker Curry, 76, was 16 when she served as the president of the Staten Island Branch Youth Council in 1966. Curry said, “We were the first Black family to own a business in Rosebank, and I was the first Black child in St. Paul’s School in New Brighton when it opened, and the only black child that graduated in 1962.” “I’ve seen so many changes, not just in our community, but throughout Staten Island. I’m so proud of my heritage and history. That’s why I am here today, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Staten Island NAACP,” Curry added. Xayla Wilson, 16, the current president of the Youth Council, met Curry for the first time at the luncheon and feels a profound connection to her predecessor. “Hearing about her experiences and everything is so similar to what I’m going through, except during her time, it was unacceptable to be who she was. And here I am, getting to live in my freedom and getting to live in my experience,” Wilson exclaimed. “It is so inspiring to see somebody who had it so bad and was able to persevere and get through it, do what she does, and keep thriving and is still thriving today. Wilson went on to say, “It was crazy. It was like looking at myself in the mirror. She is who I aspire to be.” Miles Hollingsworth, the NAACP’s New York State Conference Youth and College Division President, delivered the keynote address, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Staten Island NAACP branch and honoring the legacy of past and present leaders. “We must exactly be those that we wish we had when we were young. You need to be a mentor. It’s not our job to gatekeep this community. The black excellence that we have, although it’s important to protect, it is equally important to share as much knowledge, tutelage, and power that we have,” Hollingsworth said. “Nobody’s saying leave your office. Nobody’s saying move on. And definitely nobody’s saying step aside. But I’m opening the doors with an invitation to teach the next generation. Be proud to do the work,” Hollingsworth said enthusiastically.
