IU Chapter of NAACP rises again

Hip-hop star Talib Kweli usually communicates to the public through staged lyrical messages like: \nIn my soul, and my goals\nJust to stop smokin', and stop drinkin'\nAnd I've been thinkin' -- I've got my reasonsJust to get by, just to get by.\nBut Sunday, Kweli spoke to a Hoosier audience from behind a podium microphone.\nAbout 200 Bloomington community members came to the Bloomington Convention Center to support and celebrate the IU chapter of the NAACP at the First Annual Freedom Fund Banquet Sunday evening. \nMembers were elegantly dressed for the occasion to celebrate diversity, honor two IU students and an IU faculty member for their help of starting what some in the community hope to be a lasting chapter of the NAACP on campus. \nPeople have tried to start chapters of the NAACP but they have never fully kicked off, said Karma Calhoun, president of the IU chapter of the NAACP. The banquet is the beginning of a new chapter for the NAACP at IU. \n"I'm really, really proud to see what we've done in such a short amount of time," Calhoun said. "We really just got reestablished at the beginning of the school year. There were four of us starting off, and now we have 25 members. I am very, very proud to see what we've done so far -- it's really impressive." \nThe intimate session with the critically acclaimed recording artist brought out members of the Hip Hop Congress, fans of all nationalities and age groups.\n"We use hip-hop to get involved with the community, like we'll have an emcee battle or help support an event like this," said Aaron Berkowitz, president of the IU Hip Hop Congress. "Basically (hip-hop) is a way to utilize a culture that was created mostly on positivity and pushing forward." \nThe banquet began with student speaker junior Derren Chapman introducing the chapter and celebration. Sophomore Stephani Parker sang the NAACP anthem, and Dr. James Mumford, director of the IU African American Choral Ensemble, gave a pre-dinner prayer. \nKweli spoke for an hour after dinner, about his life and his music.\n"I was really excited to hear that he was speaking, I mean, everybody gets the chance to hear him play," said senior Andrew Kienle. "You pay $35 to go to a show but you're not seeing that intellectual speak, you can see interviews on MTV but this is personal -- for $12 you really can't pass it up."\nCharlie Nelms, vice president for IU institutional development and student affairs, received the faculty award for someone who has promoted diversity throughout the campus. The audience seemed to appreciate his acceptance speech, as exemplified by sounds of rabid applause and positive affirmations like "Amen."\n"I'm certain that this will be the best student chapter NAACP branch in the country," Nelms said. "We're gonna work to make it that."\nHe spoke of four things that he thinks will be needed to make the campus chapter the best NAACP chapter of all. \n"Make a commitment to excellence ... Become a member of the NAACP ... Be politically literate ... and the last thing I challenge all of you to do is to be a change agent," Nelms said. "As you become more politically literate, you will become more politically active and finally become a change agent. All you need is the determination and the commitment to do just that."\nCalhoun said she was very pleased with the success of the banquet and that she hopes membership will increase. \n"We want a strong prevalence of NAACP on campus, to build our name," she said. \nKweli spoke about diversity and change. After telling his life story, members of the crowd asked questions about his life, music and the future of hip-hop culture -- especially its worldwide influence. \n"Knowledge is what keeps you alive," Kweli said.\n-- Contact Staff Writer Christine Lunde at clunde@indiana.edu.