The St. Louis City NAACP is making an appeal to the community to join them in their fight for justice and equity calling for an end to systemic racism and police brutality, and for their voices to be heard.
Announcing its 2O24 Freedom Fund Dinner Honorees and Call for Support

Adolphus M. Pruitt, II, St. Louis City NAACP President, has issued a Call for Support of the Annual St. Louis City NAACP Dinner to be held on Saturday, February 17, 2024.
The event celebrates the 112th Anniversary of the St. Louis City NAACP and “Black History Month.”
The event will be held at the downtown Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel and begins with a Reception at 6:00p.m. followed by Dinner/Program at 6:45 p.m. For tickets, visit the St. Louis City NAACP website, www.stlouisnaacp.org or contact Shirley A. Brown, Fundraising/Event Manager at 314-367-8739.
“We invite you to join is on February 17th. Once a year, the St. Louis City NAACP hosts an Anniversary Celebration and Freedom Fund Dinner for general support,” said Adolphus Pruitt. “Financial support from corporations, foundations, individuals, organizations and small businesses is greatly needed to continue and strengthen the St. Louis City NAACP’s programs and initiatives aimed at civic engagement, youth empowerment, and eliminating disparities in economic development, healthcare, public safety, education, technology, criminal justice and human rights issues in the St. Louis Region.”
The Dinner Theme is “Celebrating St. Louis Trailblazers and History Makers.” The event will recognize and honor individuals, business leaders and community organizations for exemplary leadership, distinguished achievements, and commitment to improve the cultural, social, and economy growth and development of the St. Louis community.
• HON. RONNIE WHITE and HON. GEORGE DRAPER will receive the Margaret Bush Wilson Lifetime Achievement Award. They are the first two African-Americans appointed to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court. White was appointed in 1995 by Governor Mel Carnahan and Draper was appointed in 2011 by Governor Jeremiah Nixon.
• MAXINE CLARK and BOB FOX are Chairman and President, respectfully, of the Clark-Fox Family Foundation. They spearheaded the St. Louis City NAACP’s fundraising campaign to recognize the lifetime achievements of civil rights attorney Frankie Muse Freeman by erecting and installing a life-size sculpture of Attorney Freeman to be permanently installed in Kiener Plaza. The statue was unveiled in Kiener Plaza on November 21, 2017 and donated to the City of St. Louis. They will receive the NAACP Legacy Award.
• CLIFFORD FRANKLIN is President and CEO, Final Phase Marketing and Fuse Advertising, the 4th largest independently owned African- American advertising agency in the United States. He will receive the NAACP Legacy Award.
• UNITED WAY OF GREATER ST. LOUIS. The United Way of Greater St. Louis remains one of the top United Ways in the nation. The programs and initiatives of the United Way of Greater St. Louis are helping to make a more equitable and inclusive St. Louis. Nearly $80 million is contributed in support across the 16-county region to help over one million people annually. The United Way will receive the NAACP Legacy Award.
• EMILY PITTS is the first African-American woman to become General Partner at Edward Jones.
• ORVIN KIMBROUGH is Chairman and CEO of Midwest BankCentre. Prior to joining Midwest BankCentre, he spent 20 years in leadership roles with prominent non-profit agencies. He is the formal President and CEO of the United Way of Greater St. Louis. During his tenure as CEO, the United Way of Greater St. Louis grew to become the largest United Way affiliate, raising nearly $80 million annually.
• MAVIS THOMPSON is the first African-American woman to hold two city-wide elected positions: Circuit Clerk and presently the St. Louis City License Collector. She is former National President of the National Bar Association and former local President of the Mound City Bar Association. They will receive the Frankie Muse Freeman/Norman E. Seay Commitment to St. Louis Award.
• THOMAS SULLIVAN is President and CEO, Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club. He will receive the Medgar Wiley Evers Medal of Freedom Award.
ª MICHAEL McMILLAN is President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, the number one Urban League affiliate in the nation.
• HLATSHWAYO-DAVIS is Director of Health, City of St. Louis. They will receive the Ina M. Boon Social Justice Award.
• DEJUAN STRICKLAND initiated and paid off the negative lunch debt of every student at his former elementary school, McCurdy Elementary in the Hazelwood School District. Now a student at St. Louis University High School, he continues to raise money to eliminate negative lunch debt for different elementary schools in the area.
• TEREA GOODWIN is Head Swim Coach of the MAKOS Swim Team at O-Fallon Park Rec Complex. The MAKOS, an all-Black swim team for boys and girls ages 5-18, recently joined USA Swimming. The Team is enjoying the thrill of victory in competitive swim meets throughout the metro area. They will receive the NAACP Youth Leadership Award.
The NAACP is the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. Founded by a coalition of black political activists and white progressives in 1909, the NAACP is responsible for a number of victories from the ballot box to the boardroom, in the struggle for justice and equality in America. The NAACP has more than 2200 Branches in 50 states and over 500,000 members worldwide.
Since the founding of the St. Louis City NAACP in 1912, it has been the talent and tenacity of local NAACP members that have saved lives and changed many negative aspects of St. Louis society.