The Pine Bluff Branch of the NAACP recognized 14 individuals and one business for their contributions to the community Friday evening during its 33rd Annual Dove Freedom Fund Banquet, which featured keynote speaker Elizabeth Eckford, one of the Little Rock Nine.
The Little Rock Nine have been honored numerous times, including receiving the Congressional Gold Medal and the NAACP Spingarn Award.
Barry Jefferson, NAACP state president, called the event to order under the theme “We Were Built for This.” It drew community leaders, elected officials, and residents to honor those making significant impacts in Pine Bluff. Mayor Vivian Flowers offered greetings and welcome remarks alongside representatives from the Pine Bluff Advertising & Promotion Commission, the Dove Family, and the Pine Bluff Black Chamber of Commerce.
Local NAACP Branch President Ivan Whitfield presented District 64 State Rep. Ken Ferguson with the Cleashindra Hall Keep Hope Alive Award. The Jack E. Foster Courage Award was given to both Julius Lever and Sheri
Storie, executive director, Pine Bluff A&P Commission.
Whitfield also presented Lifetime Membership awards and delivered closing remarks, while Yvonne Denton and Albert King Jr., co-chairs of the 2025 Awards Committee, assisted with award presentations.
District 77 State Rep. Fred Allen introduced the keynote speaker. Allen recalled that he first met Eckford in the principal’s office at Little Rock Central High School, where he was a basketball player, he was reminded that he was only there because of Elizabeth Eckford.
He described her historic experience on Sept. 4, 1957, when as a 15-year-old, she became the first of nine Black students to arrive at Central High School in Little Rock. She was blocked from entering by armed members of the all-white Arkansas National Guard and faced an angry segregationist mob alone — a moment captured in an iconic photograph that became a defining image of the Civil Rights Movement.
Eckford spoke about the group’s resilience and courage, drawing from these experiences.
Pat Tate, executive director of Neighbor to Neighbor, received the Rev. H.O. Gray Community Service Award, Tina Owens received the Member of the Year Award, and Rev. Larry Battles, pastor of Mt. Nebo, received the Religious Award. Whitfield presented the Game Changer Awards to Joni Alexander Robinson and Rev. Glenn Barnes Sr., and Sissy’s Log Cabin was named Business of the Year, while Chris Robinson and Lee Hardman were honored as Coaches of the Decade.
Leydel Willis was recognized with the Education Award. Business owner Queen Yancey and student activist and author Vivian Carroll-Jones were both honored with Civil Rights Awards. Carroll-Jones was arrested five times while participating in student sit-ins as an SNCC member (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). The Yanceys bailed out student activists during the Civil Rights Movement. The Dove Freedom Fund supports the NAACP’s civil rights work and legal defense efforts.
