VSU for Trayvon Martin

Last night at the "Rally for Change" our Political Action Committee Chair, Amber Worthty announced that our chapter will be taking the lead on the discussion of the Trayvon Martin incident in Sanford, Florida with our "Do I Look Suspicious?" campaign in the wake of a national outrage and concern for how the Trayvon Martin incident is being handled. The "Do I Look Suspicious?" campaign will be an organized, committed and responsible effort to educate the campus about Trayvon Martin and why we should all be concerned whether you are Black, Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian or what ever you consider your ethnicity or background to be. As Amber said last night "We want justice!... Not only because of the concern of racial profiling but because a 17 year old boy has been murdered and no arrest has been made". The VSU NAACP along with millions around the nation are demanding justice for Trayvon Martin. Our "Do I Look Suspicious?" campaign on VSU campus starts now! 

VSU Diversity Seminar

Thursday, March 29th at 7pm at Pound Hall Auditorium (North Campus) Beta Alpha Psi will be hosting a "Diversity Seminar" which will include a panel discussion on diversity and how important it is on campus. Our President will be a part of the panel along with reps from the Black Student League, Gay Straight Alliance, an the American Sign Language Club.

VSU NAACP at the 2012 Southeast Regional Convention

March 23rd through March 26th VSU NAACP traveled to Raleigh, NC along with Clayton State University, Columbus State University, Georgia State University, Morehouse College, Savannah State University, and Washington County Youth units to the 2012 Southeast Regional Convention where we attended workshops, meetings, and networked among the 100's of youth that attended. 


Also at this convention our state was awarded the Alethea R. Bonello State Youth And College Division Of The Year Award and our chapter was awarded Best New Youth/College Unit. We want thank all of members and supporters for their outstanding commitment. Fired up, ready to go!

Justice For Trayvon Martin Rally

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

 

VSU NAACP MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS, Please read below:

The Valdosta-Lowndes County chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference will hold a rally at the Courthouse in downtown Valdosta Thursday evening, March 22, at 6:30. P.M.

Thousands of people of all races are outraged at the murder of 17 year old Trayvon Martin. He was killed on February 26 in Sandford by a self-appointed neighborhood wartchman, named George Zimmerman.  Hundreds of Valdostans are expected to assemble at the Courthouse to express their outrage and support for Trayvon and his family. The rally will co-incide with rallies and marches across the United States. We will also call for an instenfied search for the killer(s) of Staphon Edgerton (Juan Gatti).

We're asking the public to join us at 6:30pm tomorrow evening.

Floyd Rose
President

SCLC

... With that said, we need every available student to come out and support this rally for Trayvon Martin. Any of us could have been Trayvon. Please reply to this message if you have any questions or concerns.

Thanks,

Valdosta State University

NAACP College Chapter

1500 North Patterson Street

Student Union – 2^nd Floor 2121

Valdosta, GA 31698

vsunaacp@gmail.com

www.VSUNAACP.blogspot.com

 

The Honorable Lt. Col. Leo R. Gray of the Tuskegee Airmen

March 16, 2012

Malynda Dorsey Communications Specialist

Tuskegee Airman Visits Valdosta State University

VALDOSTA -- “The Tuskegee Airmen legacy is one that is best told by the airmen themselves,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Marsha L. Aleem, commander of AFROTC Detachment 172 at Valdosta State University. “Movies have been made about them but only they can convey the struggles they faced fighting for a country that saw them as second-class citizens.”

With this in mind, AFROTC, Detachment 172 at VSU will welcome retired Lt. Col. Leo R. Gray, one of only 40 surviving black pilots who fought in World War II, to tour VSU and the Valdosta community on Wednesday, March 21 and Thursday, March 22.

On Wednesday, Gray will meet with the university’s administration, students in the African American Studies program and airmen at Moody Air Force Base. He will end his day with a special visit to the Boys and Girls Club of Valdosta. The next day he will spend time with cadets from AFROTC Det. 172 at VSU, AFJROTC cadets from Lowndes High School and students from Valdosta High School.

A special viewing of the Tuskegee Airmen documentary, In their Own Words: The Tuskegee Airmen, will be held Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in Jennett Lecture Hall. The documentary will be followed by a question and answer session with Gray. The event is open to the campus and community. Gray will be available for pictures and autographs after the program.

The first black military pilots to serve the United States, the Tuskegee Airmen played a significant role in World War II contrary to the military’s belief that an all-black air unit could not be successful.

“They endured the battle in the air against the Germans as well as a battle within the U.S. Army Air Corps to shatter the belief that Negroes were not fit to fly,” said Aleem. “They turned this adversity into victory with a successful record defending bomber aircraft. Lt. Col. Gray’s visit to Valdosta, a town rich in military history, is important because it gives the community an opportunity to get to meet him and hear his personal accounts first hand.”

Gray joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and began his aviation cadet training in 1943. He graduated from the Tuskegee Army Air Field a year later as a second lieutenant, single engine pilot.

While stationed in Italy as a fighter pilot, Gray flew 15 combat missions, with a total of 750 hours of flying time. He left active duty in 1946 and served in U.S. Air Force Reserves until 1984. During his 41-year service, Gray earned a Coveted Air Medal with one Oak Leaf cluster and a Presidential Unit Citation.

Gray holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska. He worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 30 years serving in many capacities including technical assistant, agricultural economist, economist and director of program planning. He has also served as an economic consultant to the USDA in West Africa.

Gray is a past president, vice president and treasurer of the East Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen, Inc., founder and past president of the Forum on Blacks in Agriculture, past president of Good Hope East Civic Association and a former member of the Richmond, California Model Neighborhood Citizens Board.

Other memberships include the Air Force Association, the Retired Officers Association and the NAACP. Gray has also done extensive travel around the world. He is a widower and has six children and ten grandchildren.

For questions, please contact VSU’s AFROTC Detachment at 229-259-2032 or send an email to afrotcadmin@valdosta.edu.

KNOWLEDGE > IGNORANCE Campaign

Too many times in our communities it has not been the opposition or forces of nature but yet us who have allowed ourselves to be be marginalized and excluded from the political and economical process which has left our communities prone to poverty and misinformation. This is why we have launched the "Knowledge > Ignorance" campaign which will  be a campaign dedicated to equipping you with information and tools that will help you be independent! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO!