National chair of NAACP to headline 42nd annual MLK celebration in Lawton

The chairman of the board of directors for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will visit Cameron University Jan. 19 as part of Lawton's 42nd annual observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Leon W. Russell will deliver keynote remarks on "The Timeless Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Its Impact Today" Monday evening at a banquet co-sponsored by Cameron Campus Ministry and the university. The event is sold out.

Russell has dedicated his life to fighting for human rights and has been involved in the national leadership of the NAACP since 1990, including serving as chair since 2017. Before joining the board, he served four years as president of the NAACP Florida State Conference of Branches following 15 years of service as vice president.

In a career spanning 35 years as director of the Pinellas County Office of Human Rights in Florida, Russell was responsible for implementing affirmative action and human rights ordinances - ordinances that continue to ensure a racially and sexually diverse workforce in the county.

Russell has served as a member of such organizations as the International City Management Association and the National Forum for Black Public Administrators. He served as a board member of the Pinellas Opportunity Council, president and board member of the National Association of Human Rights Workers, and as a member of the board of directors of the Children's Campaign of Florida.

As chairman of a statewide coalition called Floridians Representing Equity and Equality, he worked to oppose the Florida Civil Rights Initiative, an anti-affirmative action proposal. Ultimately, the initiative failed to get on the Florida ballot because of the strong legal challenge spearheaded by Russell's group.

First held in 1985, the banquet is a longstanding tradition in Lawton and has attracted an impressive number of speakers over the years, ranging from Oklahoma civil rights leaders Dr. Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, Clara Luper, Fred Harris and Opio Toure, to national activists Juan Williams, Julian Bond, Andrew Young, Myrlie Evers-Williams, Dick Gregory, Barkari Sellars and Maryum Ali.

The event is developed by a 10-member celebration committee comprised of various community and civil rights leaders and university staffers. Cameron Campus Ministry plays a major role in coordinating and sponsoring the event.

Prior to Monday evening's banquet, Russell will participate in an hour-long question-and-answer session that begins at 2 p.m. in the Mary Lou and W. Carey Johnson Auditorium inside Cynthia S. Ross Hall on the Cameron campus. This event is open to the public at no charge. No prior registration is needed.

PR#26-005