NAACP-Berkshire County Branch

06/12/2026

Sixty-three years ago today, Medgar Evers returned home to his family only to be met with an assassin's bullet before he could even reach his front door.

The 37-year old father of three, husband, and NAACP leader's life and voice were stolen from us in a senseless act of racial violence.

Today, we honor his courage, his sacrifice, and his unwavering dedication to the fight for justice, equity, and voting rights.

His legacy lives on in each of us. May the movement continue to move forward in his memory.

06/12/2026

🎉 Festival, Family Activities & Food at the Juneteenth Celebration! 🎉

Durant Park will be transformed into a vibrant community festival featuring vendor booths, food trucks, and community partner tables, with something for all ages and backgrounds.

Families can enjoy:

📚 Storytime for Kids, presented by the NAACP Berkshire County Branch and the Choices Mentoring Initiative
🎨 Arts and crafts with TGs Clubhousee
🏰 A bouncy house
🎭 Face painting
📖 Free books for children

🍦 Cravins Ice Cream will be provided free to the first 200 children, sponsored by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission
👨🏾‍🦱 All fathers in attendance will receive a free lunch and drink, courtesy of the NAACP Berkshire County Branch.

📍 Durant Park, Pittsfield
🗓️ Saturday, June 21, 2026
⏰ 12-6PM

06/12/2026

🎵The Juneteenth stage is SET and we cannot wait.
Here's your entertainment lineup for our Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Durant Park on Sunday, June 21:

🎸 1:00 PM — Sample the Cat: Your favorite local soul, rock & jazz band

👩🏾‍🦱 2:00 PM — "Crowning Our Culture: A Juneteenth Cultural Hair Show" presented by SashaK Beauty Bar — celebrating the history, art, and beauty of Black hair through live models, storytelling, and fashion

🎤 3:30 PM — Wanda Houston: The diva of the Berkshires, bringing jazz and R&B to the park 💃 4:00 PM — Soul Line Dancing with Erica Shrader

🎧 All day — DJ YoungChamp (David Dias) keeping the vibes going

All performances are FREE and open to everyone.

06/11/2026

BCC is proud to announce that our library has been renamed The Ruth Edmonds Hill Library in honor of a lifelong librarian, educator, oral historian and Pittsfield native whose work helped preserve stories across generations.

Hill began her career in librarianship at the Berkshire Athenaeum and later worked at North Adams State College and BCC before joining the Schlesinger Library at Harvard, where she helped lead groundbreaking oral history projects, including the Black Women Oral History Project.

The new name follows years of research, community feedback and an inclusive review process shaped by faculty, staff, students, alumni and the broader Berkshire community.

We look forward to celebrating this new chapter for BCC’s library this fall in partnership with the Berkshire Historical Society and the Samuel Harrison Society.

Read more about this announcement: https://www.berkshirecc.edu/news-events/2026/ruth-edmonds-library.php

06/11/2026

🎵The Juneteenth stage is SET and we cannot wait.

Here's your entertainment lineup for our Annual Juneteenth Celebration at Durant Park on Sunday, June 21:

🎸 1:00 PM - Sample The Cat: Your favorite local soul, rock & jazz band

👩🏾‍🦱 2:00 PM - "Crowning Our Culture: A Juneteenth Cultural Hair Show" presented by SashaK Beauty Bar, celebrating the history, art, and beauty of Black hair through live models, storytelling, and fashion

🎤 3:30 PM - Wanda Houston: The diva of the Berkshires, bringing jazz and R&B to the park

👢 4:00 PM - Soul Line Dancing with Berkshire Sole Society featuring Erica Shrader

🎧 All day - DJ YoungChamp (David Dias) keeping the vibes going

All performances are FREE and open to everyone.

06/08/2026

On June 21st, our Juneteenth Celebration opens with something truly powerful, a multigenerational community reading of Frederick Douglass's landmark 1852 address, "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?"

Delivered on July 5, 1852 in Rochester, New York, Douglass challenged a nation celebrating its independence while millions remained enslaved. His words are as urgent and necessary today as they were then.

This reading brings together elected officials, educators, students, and community leaders of all ages and backgrounds to read the speech aloud — together. It is made possible through a Reading Frederick Douglass Together grant from Mass Humanities, secured by Berkshire Community College in partnership with the NAACP Berkshire County Branch.

Readers include:
📌 Dr. Frances Jones-Sneed, Professor Emeritus of History, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA)
📌 Dr. Will Singleton, former NAACP Berkshire County Branch President
📌 Dr. Latifah Phillips, Superintendent, Pittsfield Public Schools
📌 Mirabai Dyson, Legislative Aide to State Representative Tricia Farley-Bouvier
📌 Alisa Costa Pittsfield Councilor At-Large
📌 A.j. Enchill, Berkshire Black Economic Council
📌 Toni Buckley, Director of Mission, Values and Community Impact at Berkshire Community College
📌 Heather McNiece, Vice Chair of the Pittsfield School Committee
📌 Madeline Fralia, Associate Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Miss Hall's School
📌Students Khole Amankwah and Aastha Rai from Miss Hall's School; ROPE Scholars Anima Gyapong, Valeria Bonney, and Zoe Brizan; and Berkshire Community College students Mackenzie Colvin and Mynisia Charles.

Sunday, June 21 · 12:00 PM · Durant Park, Pittsfield
Free and open to all.

06/08/2026

06/08/2026

The NAACP today announced the launch of the NAACP Advancement List, a new national recognition initiative designed to celebrate and elevate the extraordinary accomplishments of Black leaders, innovators, creators, and change agents across every industry.

From business and technology to entertainment, education, healthcare, public service, advocacy, and beyond, the NAACP Advancement List will honor individuals whose work is driving meaningful progress for Black communities and shaping the future of America.

Learn more:

The NAACP today announced the launch of the NAACP Advancement List, a new national recognition initiative designed to celebrate and elevate the extraordinary accomplishments of Black leaders, innovators, creators, and change agents across every industry.