Pittsburgh NAACP Human Rights Dinner returns; capacity-crowd attends

THE PROCESSIONAL LINE, WITH NAACP EXECUTIVE OFFICERS, COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND ELECTED OFFICIALS, AT THE WYNDHAM GRAND HOTEL, JUNE 5, 2026. (PHOTO BY J.L. MARTELLO)

The NAACP Pittsburgh Branch made a bold statement Friday night, June 5.

Led by NAACP Pittsburgh Branch President Jackie Hill and Pa. Speaker of the House, Rep. Joanna McClinton, the officers and closest constituents of the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch proudly made their entrance into the main ballroom at the Wyndham Grand Hotel, Downtown.

More than 500 people looked on as they watched the people who, collectively, are trying to turn the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch back into the powerhouse branch it once was.

The NAACP Pittsburgh Branch held its first Human Rights Dinner in at least five years on June 5, with the sellout crowd making its own statement.

“There’s been ups and downs, but any progress that has been made in the City of Pittsburgh has been made by the Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP,” Hill told the New Pittsburgh Courier exclusively at the event, held on a sunny First Friday afternoon into the evening, the sunlight beaming on the formal attire of the attendees as they walked into the Wyndham.

PA. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, REP. JOANNA MCCLINTON (PHOTOS BY J.L. MARTELLO)

The Pa. Speaker of the House, Rep. Joanna McClinton, a Black woman from Philadelphia, even made the cross-state trip to join the Pittsburgh NAACP for this momentous occasion. She was the keynote speaker for the evening.

“It’s an honor, it’s a privilege,” Rep. McClinton told the Courier exclusively. “They (Pittsburgh NAACP) haven’t had this dinner in a while because of different circumstances, but we’re here tonight to recommit to the purpose of the NAACP. And in the hour in which we live where every civil right is under attack, things some of us took for granted, we’re coming to unite in purpose and to leave determined more than ever to make the change our next generation needs.”

From Hill, to first vice president Terri Minor Spencer, to second vice president Brenda Tate, secretary Kimberly Rosser, treasurer Yvonne Owens, NAACP Pittsburgh committee members and Human Rights Dinner event co-chairs Doris Carson Williams and Nancy D. Washington, to event producer Sean Gray, the general consensus at the dinner from its attendees is that the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch is headed in the right direction.

“It’s a re-awakening,” voiced the iconic Sala Udin, longtime civil rights champion and former member of Pittsburgh City Council and the Pittsburgh School Board, in an exclusive interview with Chief Ikhana of the Courier. “An opportunity to revitalize an organization that we inherited and have a responsibility to revive and make sure it survives.”

Udin added: “We are at a time in our movement for civil rights that it’s time for us to wake up others and wake up ourselves and get some motion and action going. What we have to do is, do the work.”

“We’re in a critical time in the country where it’s time for us to collaborate and to focus on voter registration,” voiced Rev. Dr. Dale B. Snyder, pastor of Bethel AME Church in the Hill District. “…Coming out of our silos and learning how to work with the oldest civil rights organization in our country, to really champion the issues of our people, because we’re being challenged by this current (presidential) administration.”

Rev. Snyder continued: “No longer can we afford to stay isolated, we have to come together and sound the alarm…because if we don’t pay attention, these people who are in (presidential) office now will send us back another 30, 40, 50, 60 years.”

The Human Rights Dinner is a staple of the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch. In the 1960s, when John F. Kennedy was U.S. President, he sent his special assistant, Frank D. Reeves, to the Human Rights Dinner in Pittsburgh. Reeves was the first African American to serve as a special assistant to a U.S. President. More than 60 NAACP Pittsburgh Branch Human Rights Dinner events have been held, featuring celebrities, politicians, but most importantly, the show of strength that the local branch has, in a city that hasn’t always been too kind to African Americans.

This year’s Human Rights Dinner featured poetry and performances from Pittsburgh CAPA students KenNyrah Woods and Layla Sewell-Wilson, inspirational messages and of course, a hearty dinner. It was a time for the hundreds in attendance to mingle, network, and uplift the Pittsburgh NAACP as a collective.

“People were glad to be there, there was a lot of joy in the room,” said an excited Hill, the NAACP Pittsburgh Branch President, after the event. “We want to take advantage of that momentum and begin getting people engaged for the work that we have to do. It is time that Black Pittsburghers get what they deserve in terms of opportunity and access.”