Television and radio personality Roland Martin will host the East St. Louis NAACP 68th Freedom Fund Banquet at 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 2, 2022, at the Marriott St. Louis Grand Hotel, 800 Washington. The 2022 theme is “This is Power: Illuminating Justice by Blazing an Equitable Path.”
Martin has served as a senior analyst for The Tom Joyner Morning Show and is a contributor for CNN.
He spent 13 years at TV One Network and from 2013 to 2017, where he was host and managing editor of NewsOneNow, the first daily morning news show targeting African Americans. Martin has also worked as a talk show host on WVIN-AM in Chicago, and written articles for Ebony and Essence magazines.
Martin was in the news this week following a Sept. 24 interview on the Steve Malzberg Show on TNT Radio in which he predicted, a major backlash by the “white minority resistance.”
“In 2043, America is going to be a majority people-of-color nation and whites are afraid they are losing their way of life,” he said.
“We still in 2022 deal with systematic racism that has frozen people out of industries and has prevented them from being able to participate. You’re going to have to change the system.”
Robin Carey-Boyd, East St. Louis NAACP president, said in a release., “We are excited to host someone of Mr. Martin’s stature at our 68th Freedom Fund Banquet. He was our first choice as speaker, and we are looking forward to hearing what we know will be a relevant and timely speech.
The banquet will spotlight community and philanthropic work by people in the fields of community service, law enforcement, politics, and religion.
Evening highlights include presentation of the “Rising Star Award” to a local youth, along with the announcement of the 2022 James Lewis, Sr. Essay Contest, and the Charles H. Lawson III Youth Award winners. Both include a scholarship and academic support.
VIP tickets are $150, and general admission is $100. Tickets can be purchased at naacpestl.org. For more information, call (618) 271-4698.
