2025 NAACP Cleveland Branch Freedom Fund Dinner + Awards

113th NAACP Cleveland Branch Freedom Fund Dinner

Resilient Voices, Relentless Progress

🗓️ Saturday, June 21, 2025
📍 Hotel Cleveland (formerly Renaissance Cleveland Hotel)

Join us for an unforgettable evening as the NAACP Cleveland Branch celebrates 113 years of advocacy, leadership, and community empowerment at our annual Freedom Fund Dinner. This year’s theme, “Resilient Voices, Relentless Progress,” honors the unwavering spirit of those who continue to lead, uplift, and fight for justice in our city and beyond.

🎤 Keynote Speaker

Nikole Hannah-Jones
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and creator of The 1619 Project

🌟 2025 Honorees

Corporate Honoree

• Robyn Minter Smyers, Partner, Thompson Hine

President’s Award

• Jericka Duncan, Anchor, CBS News

Freedom Fund Award

• James Willis, Award-Winning Criminal Defense Attorney

Community Leadership Awards

• Habeebah Rasheed Grimes, CEO, Positive Education Program (PEP)
• Brian Hall, Founder, Presidents Council

Rising Leadership Awards

• Allen Boseman, Partner, Sherman Boseman Legal Group
• Bishara Addison, Director, Fund for Our Economic Future

Unsung Hero Awards

• Donte Gibbs, Founder, Donte’s Gift Express
• Ms. Marilyn Burns, Morris Black Community Leader
• Louie Moore, Community Leader
• Teresa Metcalf Beasley, Partner, McDonald Hopkins

💫 What to Expect:

• A moving keynote address and tributes to this year’s honorees
• Networking with changemakers, leaders, and advocates
• Live entertainment and special performances
• An exclusive afterparty celebration

🎟️ Don’t miss the premier civil rights and civic engagement event of the year.

Reserve your seat now and be part of this powerful tradition.
Together, we honor resilient voices—and drive relentless progress.