Cooper urges NAACP banquet attendees to continue ‘fight forward’
Courtesy NAACP Washington branch
NAACP Human Rights Award recipient Linda Harris, executive director of the LeMoyne Community Center, at the 62nd annual banquet held Friday.
Courtesy NAACP Washington branch
Hon. Kevin E. Cooper Sr., center, delivers the keynote address at the NAACP Washington branch 62nd annual Human Rights Award banquet.
LeMoyne Community Center Executive Director Linda Harris said she learned throughout her 30-year career with the state Department of Corrections, where she served as deputy superintendent of SCI-Fayette, that “we have to work with the youth as early as possible, to have them see the possibilities of life.”
After she retired from the DOC, Harris began volunteering at LeMoyne Community Center and served as program director before succeeding longtime executive director Joyce Ellis after Ellis’ death in December 2020.
Over the 14 years Harris has spent with the LeMoyne Center, she has helped children see the possibilities of life through various programs and activities, including the American Girl Book Club, a reading program that culminates with a trip to a city where the American Girl story is set.
For her contributions to the LeMoyne Center and Washington County, Harris was presented with the Human Rights Award Friday at the NAACP Washington branch 62th Annual Human Rights Award Banquet at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel Meadowlands.
The event, held in-person for the first time since 2019, also included a powerful keynote address by pastor and retired Allegheny County magisterial court judge Kevin E. Cooper Sr.
Cooper grew up in Canton Township and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh. He is founder and CEO of K. Cooper ministries, and served as founder and pastor of Mulberry Community Church in Pittsburgh. He also established the non-profit Helping Hand Community Development Corporation, and his state truancy conferences have reduced truancy in the city of Pittsburgh.
Cooper urged attendees to “continue to fight forward” on issues including education and the right to vote – both key NAACP issues.
He called on NAACP members and supporters to oppose voter suppression efforts that are making it disproportionately difficult for communities of color to vote.
“This is not the time to be suppressing the Black vote. Now it the time to stand up and count every vote. Don’t make it harder for African-Americans to vote,” he said.
Cooper said he learned valuable life lessons while growing up in the Washington area, and urged everyone to step forward to mentor the current generation of children.
“We, as older adults, have to begin to seek out young African-Americans to teach them, and bring them around, and show them how to be leaders,” he said.
Before Cooper’s keynote address, Harris – who was brought to tears – said she was “humbled, honored and appreciative of this unexpected recognition.”
It was a bittersweet night for Harris, who announced at the banquet she will be retiring May 30.
“When I retired from the Department of Corrections, my goal was to give back, to create, to make a difference and to pay it forward,” said Harris. “I came to the LeMoyne Center with the determination to do just that.”
“Often, kids have trouble envisioning a brighter future. In reality, none of us has a perfect life, we all have problems. What’s important is how we choose to deal with those. I wanted to see these ‘underprivileged, underprepared’ kids be the ‘underestimated’ kids, she continued, as the audience applauded and cheered.
Harris, who was born in Pittsburgh, graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a desire to help others.
One of her favorite programs is the American Girl Book Club, which Harris launched because she “wanted them to realize there is a world to them outside of Washington County.”
Harris described her years at LeMoyne Center as “the most amazing of my life,” and said she was honored to work alongside Ellis to rebuild the center, which had fallen into disrepair in the early 1990s.
Harris said she shares the award with countless mentors, staff, volunteers, and her husband, Sam, and son, Darnell.
Harris said she plans to spend more time with her family.
“Now, I’ll focus on my personal goals. I’ve put aside because I put everything I have in the center. But I know I’m leaving the LeMoyne Center in good hands,” said Harris. “I have no doubt the center will continue to prosper and thrive under their leadership.”
Teresa Burroughs has been tapped as executive director and Patricia Robinson will serve a program director.
Lynelle Goins served as mistress of ceremonies, while Dorothy Young, minister of music at St. Paul AME Church in Washington, led the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Also, the Washington County Community Foundation awarded a $3,000 internship grant in Harris’ name to the LeMoyne Center. The grant will allow the center to provide a stipend to a college student intern working at the nonprofit.