MEMBERSHIP MEETING AGENDA

MEMBERSHIP MEETING AGENDA

Nov 10, 2025,  7pm 

CALL TO ORDER Prayer

Song, Lift Every Voice and Sing Mrs. Yvena Merritt

OLD BUSINESS

1. Reading of minutes of previous meeting 

1. SECRETARY’S REPORT

2. TREASURER’S REPORT

2. Reports of Officers 

1. Build Grant Opportunity-Public Education Innovation

2. State Convention, Atlanta

1. 4 delegates

3. Reports of Committees 

1. Youth Work Committee- Ms. Cosby

2. Business directory – Mrs. Hurtt

3. Fundraising Committee (Freedom Fund Cmte)– Mr. Bouie

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 

4. 2025 Initiatives

1. Membership Committee: Focuses on recruiting and retaining members. 

2. Community Garden

NEW BUSINESS 

4. IMPACT OF THE GOV’T SHUTDOWN

1. Findhelp.org

2. We have been asked by the State NAACP to do something in this community

5. AWARD PRESENTATION WOMEN IN THE NAACP (WIN) THAT WOMAN AWARD

6. HONORING OUR HONOREES!

7. OPPORTUNITY TO HOST NETTIE WASHINGTON DOUGLASS

8. THE NATIONAL NAACP BUILD GRANT!

1. Community Collaboration & Action Town Hall Series TEA

9. UPCOMING EVENTS

1. Digital membership cards

2. MLK Float???

3. Next membership meeting dates and more

1. Dec 8 @ 6:30 & 7pm …ANNUAL MEETING EOY INCOME AND EXPENSES REPORT

10. Announcements

1. Veterans’ Day

11. FLOOR OPEN FOR COMMENTS

MOTION TO ADJOURN PRAYER

Lift Every Voice and Sing

1. Lift ev'ry voice and sing
Till earth and heaven ring,
Ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies;
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us;
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us;
Facing the rising sun
Of our new day begun,
Let us march on till victory is won.

2. Stony the road we trod,
Bitter the chast'ning rod, 
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died.  

Yet with a steady beat,

Have not our weary feet

Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered.
We have come, treading our path thru' the blood of the slaughtered,
Out from the gloomy past,
Till now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast.

3. God of our weary years,
God of our silent tears,
Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way,
Thou who hast by Thy might
Led us into the light,
Keep us forever in the path, we pray.
Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met Thee,
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee.
Shadowed beneath Thy hand,
May we forever stand,
True to our God, true to our native land.

James Weldon Johnson MA PhD USA 1871-1938. Born at Jacksonville, FL, he attended Clark University, Atlanta, GA, and also spent three months in the backwoods of Georgia., taking in the culture there. While in school he published a paper, ”The daily American newspaper”, which ran for a year until terminated for lack of funding. He graduated in 1894. He then taught at the largest school in Jacksonville, FL, eventually becoming principal and adding 9th & 10th grades there. While there he began preparing for the FL bar exam, taking it in 1897. In 1904 he became treasurer of the Colored Republican Club, becoming its president the following year. He became an author, activist, educator, lawyer, and diplomat. He was a national organizer for the NAACP and an author of poetry and nonfiction. he also wrote several poetry collections and novels, often exploring racial identity and the African American folk tradition.

Nettie Washington Douglass

Founder & Chairwoman Emerita

Ms. Douglass is the great-great-granddaughter of Frederick Douglass and the great-granddaughter of Booker T. Washington. Her lineage is incredible and the story of how she has represented these legacies since she was a child is equally fascinating. FDFI is the next step in her journey.

Born in the town of Tuskegee, Alabama, at the historic Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University), Ms. Douglass has the unique distinction of being the “heir of two great Americans.” She is the first person to unite the two bloodlines of Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass through the union of her mother, Nettie Hancock Washington (granddaughter of Booker T. Washington), and her father, Dr. Frederick Douglass III (great-grandson of Frederick Douglass).

COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, MEETING DAY & TIMES

1. Decatur County Democratic Committee, 3rd Mondays @ 6p, 203 West Broughton St, Commission Board Room

2. Bainbridge City Council, 3rd Tuesdays @ 6:30pm 

3. Decatur County Commission, 2nd Tuesdays @ 9am and 4th Tuesdays @ 7pm

4. School Board, 3rd Thursdays @ 6pm

5. MLK Committee, 4th Thursdays @ 6pm, @ Christ Tabernacle Church, 1701 Bethel Road, Bainbridge, GA

6. American Legion,  1st Mondays @ 7pm, 1032 Vada Road, Bainbridge, GA 39815

Article VIII, Section 4(d) Standing Committees and Special Committees of Units Standing Committees of Branches

2025 Standing Committee of Branches: The standing committees of the Branch shall be: 

• Membership Committee: Focuses on recruiting and retaining members. 

• Legal Redress Committee: Investigates cases of discrimination and supervises litigation. 

• Freedom Fund Committee: Plans and conducts fundraising activities to support the NAACP's work. 

• Communications, Press, and Publicity Committee: Creates and maintains positive relationships with media outlets and the public. 

• Youth Work Committee: Engages young people in NAACP activities and raises awareness of issues affecting them.  (SCHOLARSHIP & DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUTH COUNCIL/HIGH SCHOOL CHAPTER)

• Education Committee: Works to eliminate segregation and discrimination in public education. 

• Community Coordination Committee: Enlists the support of other community organizations. 

• Armed Services and Veteran Affairs Committee: Works with government agencies to ensure fair treatment for veterans. 

• Religious Affairs Committee: Collaborates with religious leaders to advance the NAACP's mission. 

• Economic Development Committee: Addresses economic issues that impact minority groups. 

• Labor and Industry Committee: Works to eliminate discriminatory practices in the workplace. 

• Criminal Justice Committee: Advocates for criminal justice reform. 

• Health Committee: Focuses on improving health outcomes for minority communities. 

These committees work together to advance the NAACP's goals of ending racial discrimination and achieving equality for all.