In celebration of Black History Month, the Oak Ridge Chapter of Blacks in Government (BIG) is sponsoring the 20th Annual BIG Scholarship Luncheon from 11-1 p.m. Thursday at the Oak Ridge Civic Center.
Keynote speaker Derrick Johnson will speak on the 2014 Black History Month theme “Civil Rights in America.”
Johnson serves as state president for the Mississippi State Conference NAACP, and executive director of One Voice, Inc. He recently served as a Mel King Community Fellow with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has a Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas, and a bachelor’s degree from Tougaloo College in Jackson, Miss. Johnson serves on the NAACP national board of directors, the boards of the Mississippi ACLU and the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, and on the Advisory Council of the Mississippi Economic Policy Center. Additionally, he was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court as a commissioner to the Mississippi Access to Justice Commission.
This event is open to the public. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased for $15 at the door or from any member of the Oak Ridge Chapter of BIG. Proceeds from ticket sales fund scholarships for local area high school seniors based on their academic excellence or financial need. Scholarship funds are also raised through private and/or corporate donations. For more information on how to donate towards this scholarship, please contact Tanisha Smith-Wimes at (865) 576-1025.
BIG is a nonprofit organization that has been in existence for more than 30 years and was established to provide aid in a national response to the needs of African-Americans in public service, to organize around issues of mutual concern, and to use the organization’s collective strength to confront workplace and community issues. BIG strives to promote equality in all aspects of American life and excellence in public service.
The Oak Ridge Civic Center is 1403 Oak Ridge Turnpike.
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