The First Annual NAACP Freedom Fighter Gala: The Rundown 

Yeyya Wane    Staff Writer

This past Wednesday, the Blair County Branch of the NAACP held the first annual Freedom Fighter Gala in commemoration of late president Don Witherspoon and to welcome the new president, Andraé Holsey. The evening started out with opening remarks by the emcee, Neil Rudel and a performance by Holsey where he showcased his musical talents. Afterwards, moving memorials to the late president were made by his brother, Jeremiah Witherspoon, close friend, Charles Dupree and Former Lieutenant Governor, Robert Jubelirer, via one of his delegates. The speakers recounted funny stories of their time with Witherspoon, praising his devotion to his family and community and his golf skills.


Steve Sheetz and Dr. Zane Gates also made their tributes to Witherspoon. Dr. Gates urged everyone in the audience to “love like Don”, to which the family vehemently agreed. He pledged to follow Witherspoon’s legacy of community service by working towards creating affordable healthcare in Altoona. Mr. Sheetz also contributed to this legacy by awarding eight scholarships to minority students here at Penn State Altoona. Out of the eight scholarship winners, only one was announced at the gala. Alana Nesmith, a first-year student here at Penn State Altoona, is double majoring in CAS and Political Science and has received a grant through the Sheetz Fellowship Program, which is working closely with the Blair County NAACP.

The night concluded with Holsey giving his keynote speech. “…[T]he word[s] “freedom fighter” became almost synonymous with the idea Don Witherspoon, in my head”, Holsey tells us when recounting his thought process on coming up with a name for the event. Holsey spoke eloquently about the definition of “freedom”, America’s past of racism which, as he reiterates throughout the speech, was not as long ago as we would like to think. “My father remembers using different bathrooms and different water fountains… My father is sitting here today, so it’s not that long past, is it?” Holsey reaffirmed his willingness to act when needed. “Peacefulness is not passiveness”, he declared. 

After his speech, I managed to catch the new president and ask him a few questions: 

Q: What’s next for Blair County NAACP? Are there any specific issues you want to focus on? 

A: “We are going to be working down the line here with Families United for Change…and Dr. Zane Gates on expanding Blair County Drug and Alcohol [Program] to have something more than the singular 12-step rehab process, which is clearly not working for our area. We’re also launching investigations into several organizations in our region that are contributing to disproportionate incarceration. [We will be] working with the District Attorney’s office to these office to kind of change how victims of domestic abuse… are… able to be served after the court trials. There’s not a lot of, you know, what’s next for that. And then as far as events, we’re looking to have a similar event in springtime, the regular Freedom Fund dinner, but we want to make it accessible, probably in downtown Altoona. Somewhere people can walk. like the Divorce Center… somewhere where we can award scholarships for students in need and provide rent relief. I don’t need somebody who’s already struggling to spend the money they were going to receive on a scholarship to get a suit.” 

Q: You mentioned wanting to work with the Black Student Union [at Penn State Altoona]. What is your vision for that relationship? 

A: So, we work closely with the presidents of Juniata College, St. Francis and Mount Aloysius. We want to expand the Black Student Union, focusing on Penn State, but being able to expand it to the other colleges. But if there’s enough young people interested, we want to create an NAACP Youth Chapter and get separate grants for that organization from the National Conference. When we go to have meetings with the Attorney General, the Governor, if we make any D.C. trips… we’ll definitely reach out to the Black Student Union. We’ll provide shuttles for that so each of the students can get more involved in the political and economic and social aspect of it and expand their own activism. Hopefully through the Sheetz Fellowship Program, we can give each and every student an opportunity to either join the Sheetz Executive Board or create their own business.” 

I thanked Mr. Holsey for his time and made my way back to campus. I am looking forward to seeing him lead the way for the next generation of leaders in Altoona and beyond. 

 

Leave a Reply