Gulfport NAACP will choose Mother of the Year

The Gulfport NAACP will present its 2017 Mother of the Year Program at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Good Deeds Community Center, 15101 Madison St.

The program’s theme is “Equality for Women is Progress for All.”

The four contestants are not only mothers, but also are prominent and active residents in their churches and community. They will be showcased in the annual program Saturday

▪ Michella McCree, True Deliverance Outreach Ministry, Shirley A. Ard, overseer

▪ Tanishka A. Moore, Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Arthur E. Burney Sr., pastor

▪ Sarah Robinson, First Missionary Baptist Church, S.V. Adolph Jr., pastor

▪ Sedunitha M. Robinson, Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church, Phillip McSwain Sr., pastor

The Mother of the Year has long been a mainstay program for NAACP branches that began in Mississippi.

In 1959, Medgar Evers, under his role as NAACP Field Director, began Mother of the Year as a statewide fundraising project, as well as to inject more community interest in NAACP activities and foster friendly competition between the branches and the state conference.

Evers also wanted to honor women and commemorate the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. The Mother of the Year concept has now grown nationwide within the NAACP.

Each contestant is required to raise funds that benefit both their local branch and the State Conference NAACP. At least three finalists are decided based on funds raised.

The winner will then compete in the state contest, in one of two divisions in Mississippi, depending on the size of the branch. The state NAACP Mother of the Year Program is scheduled for May 27 in Prentiss.

Mother of the Year winners also are in a position to win other rewards, such as a trip to the National NAACP Convention or the NAACP Image Awards.

Dorothy Shaw, director of community relations for Ingalls Shipbuilding, will be Saturday’s guest speaker. Special honors will be presented to Frances Fredericks, retired longtime Mississippi state representative and namesake of the Frances Fredericks Senior Complex.

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased from any of the contestants or through Deloris Cannon, chair of the Mother of the Year Committee, at Deloris Hair Flair Salon, 12001 Mobile Ave., Gulfport, 228-831-3647. For more information, contact Cannon at 228-257-9201 or ghost09@att.net.

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Gulfport NAACP will choose Mother of the Year."