NAACP will hold its 32nd Annual “Tribute to a King” celebration January 16th at 11:00AM

The Allentown Branch of the NAACP will hold its 32nd Annual “Tribute to a King” celebration on Monday, January 16th at 11:00AM hosted at the historic St. James A.M.E. Zion Church located at 4th and Union Streets in Allentown where the Reverend Thomas E. Sweatt is the Pastor.

This annual spirited event celebrates the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and the public is invited to attend. This year’s theme, “Education – Content of Character”, highlights Dr. King's message that we be judged by the content of our character and not the color of one's skin.




Rebecca “Becky” Pringle

 The keynote speaker will be Rebecca “Becky” Pringle, who was elected secretary-treasurer of the National Education Association in July 2008. As secretary-treasurer of the nation's largest professional organization, Pringle ranks third among NEA leadership. She previously served as a member of NEA’s nine-member Executive Committee from 2001 to 2007.

A middle school teacher with 31 years of classroom experience, Pringle has held Association positions at the local, state, and national levels, including the Pennsylvania State Education Association and NEA Board of Directors. Most recently she served as a teacher on special assignment working with the Susquehanna Township (Pa.) School District Closing the Achievement Gaps initiative and PSEA’s Minority Community Outreach program.
Pringle’s long history of leadership includes a focus on diversity issues, student achievement, and developing leaders within the Association. “In the words of James Baldwin, ‘Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed unless it is faced.’ We have no choice but to face the challenges in public education with vision, commitment, voracity, and courage,” she says.

During her terms on the NEA Board and Executive Committee, Pringle chaired the NEA Reading Task Force and NEA ESEA Advisory Committee, which helped prepare the organization for the law’s reauthorization. And as a member of the Association’s Program and Budget Committee, she provided key input and guidance on the use of NEA resources with a budget that exceeded $307 million.

The NAACP was founded in 1909 and is the oldest civil rights organization in the world. For more information, contact Dan Bosket, President – Allentown NAACP at 610-780-9903.