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Berkshire NAACP Raises Over $60k For Black High School Students

A black man holding a mic with a face mask and an NAACP sign stands in a sun-dappled grassy park surrounded by people
Josh Landes
/
WAMC
Berkshire NAACP Chapter President Dennis Powell holding an NAACP sign at a 2020 Black Lives Matter rally in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

The Berkshire County chapter of the NAACP says it raised over $60,000 at its annual fundraiser. 

President Dennis Powell says the chapter held its Freedom Fund Awards Celebration virtually January 23rd.

“It’s the branch’s major fundraising event to assist Black high school graduates throughout Berkshire County in taking the next step to further their education,” he explained.

The chapter’s membership and ranks swelled after 2020’s Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the county. The $60,000 in awards for Black college students is four times last year’s amount.

Josh Landes has been WAMC's Berkshire Bureau Chief since February 2018, following stints at WBGO Newark and WFMU East Orange. A passionate advocate for Western Massachusetts, Landes was raised in Pittsfield and attended Hampshire College in Amherst, receiving his bachelor's in Ethnomusicology and Radio Production. His free time is spent with his cat Harry, experimental electronic music, and exploring the woods.
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