The Liberty County Branch NAACP 67th Freedom Fund Banquet & Gala will be held this Saturday, Oct. 5, at Club Stewart Main Ballroom, 1020 Hero Road, on Fort Stewart. The theme this year is Stronger Together: “When We Fight, We Win!” The keynote speaker for the gala is Willie E. Gary, Esq. The Freedom Fund Banquet & Gala is the chapter’s premiere annual fundraiser. Tickets can be purchased for a donation of $50, sponsorship opportunities are available, as well. The funds raised will help the Liberty County NAACP Mission of fostering a stronger and healthier community as it relates to civic, economic, educational, and civil rights. Portions of the funds will also go toward scholarships for high school graduates of Liberty County and, the Ralph Quarterman Monument Fund, a collaboration with the 1st Saturday Legislative Party.
Guests will have the opportunity to share in the recognition of five outstanding community leaders, the 2018 Liberty NAACP scholarship recipients will share how their scholarship has assisted in their first-year college and, the unveiling of the Ralph Waldo Quarterman Monument. The dedication will include a clay version of the Ralph W. Quarterman statue.
Mr. Ralph Waldo Quarterman is most noted as the founder, organizer, and person responsible for the chartering of the Liberty County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), in 1952. He was an active member in the political process in Liberty County, he organized the Liberty County Cooperative Committee and, was the first African American to run for political office in Liberty County since reconstruction.
No night was too dark, no hour too late, no problem was too great for Ralph W. Quarterman to tackle. At his home going service, the late Dr. W. W. Law, a noted historian, civil rights giant and past president of the Savannah Branch of the NAACP, profoundly stated, “The tallest tree in the forest has fallen.” Mr. Quarterman carried on daily with his passion to serve and advance the people of Liberty County, giving emphasis to the least of ours until his demise.
Keeping in sync with Mr. Ralph Waldo Quarterman’s passion for being groundbreaking, it is befitting the Ralph Quarterman Monument will be the first monument of an African American to be placed at a courthouse in Georgia. This in of itself carries a great level of significance to Liberty County, Georgia and beyond.
“We are excited with what we have accomplished this year and look forward to honoring our past,” said Graylan Quarterman, President of the Liberty County Branch NAACP.
The evening will begin with a red carpet welcome for guests; then the President’s Reception begins at 6:30 p.m. The ballroom doors open at 7 p.m. with the program and dinner beginning at 7:30 p.m. The evening will conclude with live entertainment.