From spreading leadership skills to informing the public of issues affecting minorities, the FAU NAACP chapter works to ensure the political, social, educational, and economic equality of all minority groups.

Each member is driven to develop community involvement, political activism, and an appreciation of people of color’s contribution to civilization.

NAACP executive board member Juwan Hayes is a junior who started out as a general member, but soon realized he wanted to have a larger impact on the campus body.  

Here’s what he had to say regarding his role and the organization’s upcoming efforts.

How and why did you get involved in this organization?

I actually got involved in this organization through mutual friends who previously served as NAACP executive board members and they encouraged me to get involved. So I started out as a general body member then over the course of a few semesters I knew I wanted to make a bigger impact and decided to join the executive board.

What is the main goal of the NAACP?

Our main goal is to educate the FAU community, the minority community, and the FAU student body as a whole about what the NAACP is, current events on campus, and [the] political society that impact[s] everyone.

What is your role as an executive board member?

My role is to actively serve as a leader spreading public awareness about important political issues like social justice and education on and off campus. I also help to coordinate events and encourage new members to join because the NAACP is for everybody, not just African Americans.

How many members currently serve on the executive board?

Currently we have 14 executive board members.

What are the NAACP’s current thoughts on race relations/discrimination in the U.S. today?

As far as race relations, we do not discriminate nor do we believe in discrimination because America is a diverse nation. In 2018, it would not make sense to judge anyone based on race or ethnicity so we are accepting of all students who want to join our organization. But, there is a lot of race tension and we do see discrimination in our society so we make it our mission to educate the public about these issues.

Is there anything the NAACP wants the student body to know?

Specifically many people on the FAU campus get wrapped up in the social aspect of events for our organization. Primarily, we are trying to educate the public and we want people to listen about these issues. At the end of the day, we’re all friends and it doesn’t matter if you are an executive board member or just a member.

Are there any upcoming events your organization is planning for Black History Month that you would like students to know about?

Yes, we will be hosting our “Beauty Isn’t Skin Deep” discussion on Jan. 31 in Live Oak Pavilion on the Boca Raton campus. It will be centered around the difficulty people of color in all different ethnicities have when trying to find employment in our society today.

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For more information on the FAU NAACP chapter and its upcoming events, visit its Owl Central page.

Destiny Harris is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected].