On Saturday evening members and supporters of the Ellenville chapter of the NAACP gathered to celebrate the organization's 38th Annual Membership Banquet. Accommodating the occasion was the Hudson Valley Resort and Spa in Kerhonkson.

Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis, chair and professor of Linguistics and Literature in the Department of Black Studies at SUNY New Paltz, led the program. "It is a pleasure to see the room full of people of different ethnicities and ages," she began, "It is wonderful to see everyone here tonight to advance this cause." Following an uplifting speech, Wade-Lewis introduced Maude Bruce, the president of Ellenville's NAACP chapter.

Bruce was elected to her position in 1984. Taking her seat in 1985, Bruce has been reaching out to the Ellenville community for over twenty-one years. Bruce is no stranger to activism; in fact, at just sixteen years old, she and nineteen other students from Monroe High School in Georgia were arrested while demonstrating with Dr. Martin Luther King. In 1967 Bruce traveled from Georgia to Ellenville, where she became an active community member. "Tonight's theme is 'there is no success without a struggle,'" said Bruce, "because you can't have one without the other."

Though the evening paid homage to the NAACP and the struggles the organization has recognized, the event also celebrated the Matthews family, a family of devoted community members who has served the Ellenville community for decades. "It is an honor to recognize Matthews Pharmacy," said Bruce, "We chose them because we know they work hard for the community."

Following a brief intermission for dinner, guest speaker Mrs. Karriem Rahaman-Bunch delivered a powerful speech. Discussing what she felt were the shortcomings of the No Child Left Behind Act, and its affect on minority and low-income children, Rahaman-Bunch declared, "An increasing number of adolescents are thrown into the criminal justice system not because they failed school, but because school failed them."

Concluding the evening was the presentation to the honoree. Ray Matthews spoke on behalf of the store's staff as he went through, person by person, and recalled how each employee had come to the pharmacy and what they had brought with them in helping the Matthews family serve the community of Ellenville.

"Thank you for this distinguished honor," said Ray Matthews, "…For to give one has to first receive. We thank you for your support in our business and in our lives."

The NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the United States, was formed on February 12, 1909 in New York City. Sixty people, both black and white, attended the meeting for one common purpose, social justice. Among the most notable members was W.E.B. Dubois; he and the fifty-nine other members vowed to work towards ending segregation and promoting equality among minorities. Ninety-seven years later, the struggle continues.

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