NAACP youth attend national convention

Hykeem Evans and Alex Paredes, members of the Lower Sussex NAACP Youth Council, were among the 1,500 young people who attended the 2014 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People convention held July 19-23 in Las Vegas, Nev. Evans and Paredes were accompanied by Manuel Davis, youth advisor for the local group.

Throughout the four-day convention, whose theme this year was All in for Justice and Equality, the delegates attended panel discussions and heard speakers stress the importance of voter rights and the power to access the ballot box. Vice President Joe Biden addressed the delegation July 23 and talked about a hailstorm of measures in many states to restrict citizens' ability to vote.

Evans and Paredes attended a number of youth and college division meetings, according to Davis. “It was a great experience for Hykeem and Alex to meet and exchange ideas with other young people. They came home energized and ready to share what they learned with the other members of our Sussex Youth Council.” Davis expressed gratitude to the three members of Sussex County Council and to members of the community who helped make the trip possible.

The 2015 NAACP convention will be held in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Lower Sussex Youth Council plans to have a large continent attending.