Sinbad, Dellums to Receive NAACP Freedom Honors

Comedian Sinbad, former U.S. Rep. Ron Dellums (D-Oakland) and other community leaders will be recognized Wednesday during the annual Freedom Fund Awards sponsored by the NAACP’s San Fernando Valley branch.

In the CSUN-hosted ceremony that serves to spotlight significant contributions toward the empowerment of people of color, the NAACP will give Sinbad the President’s Award for his support of the local and national NAACP.

Dellums, now president of Healthcare International Co., will be presented the 1999 Roy Wilkins Award for his social and political advocacy.

Additionally, the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People will award the Florence Griffith Joyner Award to two high school seniors. Vanessa DuPont and Briana Cartwright, students at Immaculate Heart High School, will be recognized for their volunteer work as coaches with the Mid-Valley YMCA youth basketball program last summer. The two led their team of boys, ages 8 to 11, to a league championship.

Other award recipients include Ernestine Barlow-Peters, executive director of the NAACP Image Awards; Tracy Rice, Los Angeles bureau chief of the Rainbow Coalition; and CSUN professor Barbara Rhodes.

The San Fernando Valley branch was established in 1955 to provide leadership for improving the political, educational, social and economic status of minority groups in the region. Proceeds from the show will go toward funding NAACP programs.

A private reception will precede the awards show, which is open to the public. Tickets can be purchased at the entrance of the Performing Arts Center for $50.

For more information, call (818) 899-4357.