On February 12, 2026, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Founders Day and Membership Drive was held in an unlikely — yet deeply fitting — place: the front lobby of Clark Memorial Funeral Service in Randolph County, Alabama.
We call it “The Community Room.”
Because that’s what it has always been.
This recorded live presentation captures a powerful and intimate gathering of local leadership and community voices committed to civil rights work in rural Alabama.
You will hear from:
Elder Delvan L. Houston, who has faithfully served as President of Randolph County Branch 5053 for eight consecutive years.
Rev. Rickey L. Cofield, respected pastor, moderator, and committed branch member.
Deacon Richard Jones, who spearheaded the Membership Drive effort.
And featured guest speaker Wilkie S. Frieson — Vice President and Legal Redress Chairman of Branch 5053, Co-Owner of Clark Memorial Funeral Service, and Co-Curator of the Clark Historic Landmark Site.
In this brief but deeply meaningful program, you will hear reflections on the long arc of the Civil Rights struggle — from slavery, to Reconstruction, to Jim Crow, to the battles we continue to face today.
But this is not just history.
It is a call.
A call to join.
A call to organize.
A call to defend.
A call to show up.
If you believe civil rights progress maintains itself, this video will challenge that assumption.
If you believe rural communities are disengaged, this video will prove otherwise.
And if you have ever wondered what meaningful activism looks like at the local level — this is it.
We invite you not only to watch…
But to take the next step.
Join your local NAACP.
Support civil rights work in your own community.
Become the advocate your community needs.
History is not something we read about.
It is something we either protect — or surrender.
Watch the full presentation right here.
The Southern Justice Archive
Presented By: Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson aka
Wilkie Clark’s Daughter”
“Documenting what happened, Preserving what matters, Protecting what must endure!
