Contributed by the National NAACP
(BALTIMORE, MD) – The NAACP has launched NAACPConnect, the official social networking hub for members of the NAACP Youth & College Division and participants in the Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) Program. NAACPConnect is an online hub for youth leaders to connect with each other and network with NAACP alumni. The hub is centrally based at NAACPConnect.org, but also utilizes Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Youtube and Google+ to bring users together.
Stefanie Brown, National Field Director and Director of the NAACP Youth & College Division, hosted a live video chat on NAACPConnect.org to discuss the different ways to engage with the network. Users can interact and ask questions via Facebook and Twitter.
“Our aim is to link together young, civil rights activists represented in the hundreds of NAACP Youth & College chapters and ACT-SO programs across the United States,” stated Brown. “NAACPConnect is a place for young leaders to showcase their talents, share best practices, ignite social change and build the best future possible.”
“I am excited about ACT-SO participants using NAACPConnect to engage youth achievement and social justice issues,” stated Anana Kambon, ACT-SO National Executive Director. “For 33 years ACT-SO has ignited the ambitions and dreams of so many distinguished alumni who can now utilize this new social networking site to reconnect and share their accomplishments.”
“We developed this hub to create a platform for our youth leaders to chart their course, tell their stories and change their world to share their thoughts and visions,” stated NAACPConnect Project Manager Larry Brown, Jr. “Our hope is that NAACPConnect will facilitate mentoring relationships between current and former youth leaders while establishing an alumni network to assist the younger generation on their road to success.”
The NAACP Youth & College Division is currently celebrating its 75th year. It is composed of over 25,000 young people, making it one of the largest organized youth groups of any secular organization in the country. Notable NAACP Youth & College Division alumni include NAACP Chairman of the Board of Directors Roslyn M. Brock, Donna Brazile, Roland Martin and Jeff Johnson.
ACT-SO is an annual competition that attracts hundreds of the country’s most gifted young people to compete in the areas of sciences, humanities, performing arts, visual arts, andbusiness. Notable alumni include John Singleton, Jennifer Hudson, Michelle Williams, Lauren Hill, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Cornelius Smith.
Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities, conducting voter mobilization and monitoring equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.
