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NAACP Youth Council awarded at national convention | Local News

BLOOMINGTON — The Youth Council of the Bloomington-Normal branch of the NAACP recently attended the 113th NAACP National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In addition to hearing a keynote speech from Vice President Kamala Harris, Youth Council members heard speeches from cabinet members, U.S. senators, governors and key NAACP leaders.

The Youth Council also received the Organizer of the Year Award during the convention. The group has organized peaceful rallies, monthly meetings, keynote speakers, school supply drives, shopping for the underserved and partnering with the Bloomington Housing Authority to assist with the residents’ needs.



Bradley Ross Jackson stands in front of the stage as Vice President Kamala Harris delivers the keynote address to the NAACP on Monday, July 18.



Additionally, Youth Council President Bradley Ross Jackson received the Mr. Medgar Evers Award for youth creative writing, depicting the struggles of slain civil rights leader Evers.

“I congratulate the Bloomington-Normal Youth Council for having a banner year and for creating a rich legacy,” Bloomington-Normal NAACP President Linda Foster stated in a news release announcing the awards. “The Youth Council has set the bar for Civic engagement, and we are thrilled the National Office recognized their excellence.”


NAACP Youth Council creates documentary on former ISU professors

Ross Jackson said, “The Youth Council Members are excited to celebrate our first year of excellence. We are extremely honored to receive recognition from the NAACP’s National Office while attending the annual convention.”

He said the Bloomington-Normal Youth Council competed against other councils from around the country, including larger cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.



Youth Council Awards from the 2022 National Convention.jpg

Bradley Ross Jackson, left, poses for a photo with Derrick Lewis II, national field organizer for the Youth and College Division at NAACP’s National Headquarters in Baltimore.



“We have put Bloomington-Normal on the map!” Ross Jackson said.

The community is invited to celebrate the NAACP Youth Council’s one-year anniversary at 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at the McLean County Museum of History.

Photos: Efforts to combat food insecurity in Bloomington-Normal

Midwest Food Bank in Normal

Midwest Food Bank in Normal

Bananas ready to be distributed from Midwest Food Bank in Normal. 


D. Jack Alkire


Midwest Food Bank in Normal

Midwest Food Bank in Normal

A package of Tender Mercies from Midwest Food Bank (MFB). The microwaveable meal consists of rice and beans and helps fight food insecurity wherever MFB distributes them. 


D. Jack Alkire


Bread for Life Co-op

Bread for Life Co-op

The Bread for Life Co-op at Home Sweet Home Ministries is designed like any other grocery store in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Bread for Life Co-op

Bread for Life Co-op

The Bread for Life Co-op has a frozen and refrigerated section like any other grocery store in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Bread for Life Co-op

Bread for Life Co-op

Peggy Ann Milton stocks and arranges baby products at the Bread for Life Co-op in Bloomington. Milton is a member of the co-op. 


D. Jack Alkire


Bread for Life Co-op

Bread for Life Co-op

Fresh produce from local farms is the first thing shoppers see when they enter the Bread for Life Co-op in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Western Avenue Community Center

Western Avenue Community Center

William “Junior” Hosea and Martha Saldana unload boxes of fresh produce from Cook Farm as part of the community supported agriculture program at Western Avenue Community Center. The produce goes to families in west Bloomington’s food desert.


D. Jack Alkire


Western Avenue Community Center

Western Avenue Community Center

Kristen Buhrmann stacks boxes of fresh produce at Western Avenue Community Center for the start of this year’s community supported agriculture program. 


D. Jack Alkire


West Bloomington Revitalization Project

West Bloomington Revitalization Project

A box of fresh produce from Cook Farm as part of West Bloomington Revitalization Project’s community supported agriculture. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden

Sunnyside Community Garden

Caleb Phillips picks lettuce with his apprentices at Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest. The garden grows food for families in Bloomington as well as selling produce on Market Wagon. 


D. Jack Alkire


Veggie Oasis

Veggie Oasis

Karla Kossler, left, gathers produce from the downtown Bloomington farmers market for the weekly Veggie Oasis. Chelsea Meiss, right, works at Cook Farm and explained what herbs were and what they were good for. 


D. Jack Alkire


The Table

The Table

Kyan Glenn, center, sells produce from his farm, The Table, at the downtown Bloomington farmers market in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Veggie Oasis

Veggie Oasis

Harrison Lin, right, tells Barb Pankonen, right, about produce at the Veggie Oasis at West Bloomington Revitalization Project on the corner of Allin and Washington streets in Bloomington, Illinois. 


D. Jack Alkire


Midwest Food Bank

Midwest Food Bank

A volunteer operates a fork lift at Midwest Food Bank (MFB) in Normal. MFB donates tons of food in central Illinois as well as 11 other locations in the U.S., Haiti and Kenya. 


D. Jack Alkire


Midwest Food Bank

Midwest Food Bank

Pallets of water being held in Midwest Food Bank’s 100,000-square-foot warehouse. 


D. Jack Alkire


Midwest Food Bank

Midwest Food Bank

An 800-pound bag of Apple Jacks that Midwest Food Bank salvaged and turned into weekend “hope packs” for local children during the school year. 


D. Jack Alkire


Midwest Food Bank

Midwest Food Bank

Apple Jacks packed into a “hope pack” for local children during the school year. 


D. Jack Alkire


Midwest Food Bank

Midwest Food Bank

A standard disaster relief pack that Midwest Food Bank packs. 


D. Jack Alkire


Midwest Food Bank

Midwest Food Bank

The refrigerated section at Midwest Food Bank in Normal. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Apprentices and volunteers help weed garden beds at Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

An apprentice adds mulch to the asparagus bed at Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Caleb Phillips (right) and Jan Turner (left) discuss prices for selling produce from Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest in Bloomington. Turner started the garden with her child Col Connelly as a high school project in 2016.


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

A peach grows at Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest in Bloomington. Sunnyside planted peach trees in 2017 and has added cherry and apple trees since. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Caleb Phillips, second from right, helps apprentices remove lettuce that has already bolted and must be composted at Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest lies just south of Cargill Inc. in Bloomington. Sunnyside started in 2016 and has since grown to help feed local communities and train apprentice youth. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Youth apprentice at Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Caleb Phillips, left, helps apprentices harvest lettuce last month at Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest welcomes youth apprentices on Illinois Street in Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest

Apprentices can work up to 100 hours a summer for $1,000 at Sunnyside Community Garden and Food Forest on the west side of Bloomington. 


D. Jack Alkire


Contact Robyn Skaggs at [email protected] or 309-820-3244.

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