NAACP Holds Freedom Funds Banquet

The local chapter of the NAACP held their Freedom Funds Banquet Saturday night.

The event was held has been taking place for the last 46 years. This year brought the largest turnout yet. According to Kenneth Burke, President of the Muskingum County NAACP Chapter, the event is held not only to raise money, but to bring the community together.

"The NAACP, everybody has the right to civil and equal rights. Everybody, I don’t care who you are or what color you are and this brings the community together. We have a lot of people here. The mayors here and a lot of different people to come out and we just have a good time together."

The event featured guest speaker Forest Farmer, a member of the Zanesville High School Hall of Fame. According to Burke, Farmer is well known in the community and has a lot of credentials behind him. Farmer told us it felt great to be apart of the evenings festivities.

"It’s great. It’s great to, after being away for 55 years to have anybody in town that still remembers me and invites me back so it’s super to be here you know? But, we’re traditional Zanesville family. My grandparents came back here in the 1850’s so my father and mother and all them grew up here so we’ve been here for a long time."

Farmer’s talk included information about networking and mentoring. To learn more about the NAACP, you can visit their office at the Zanesville Civic League Community Center.