High school students are invited to register for the NAACP ACT-SO Competition. The hybrid event, hosted by the Beverly Hill-Hollywood Branch, is free for young people and local medalists can attend the National competition in Boston.
A virtual Zoom session takes place Saturday, on April 1 for the Humanities session categories. A live competition for Performing Arts, Visual Arts, STEM, and Business categories will be held on Saturday, April 15.
“The ACT-SO program is designed to recruit, stimulate, and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among African America high school students and other students of color. This program has been hailed as the best youth Program the NAACP has to offer,” Branch President Ron Hasson.
“It relies on the dedication and commitment of community, business leaders and celebrities who volunteer as mentors and coaches to promote academic and artistic excellence. Through this collaborative effort, participating students develop the confidence and skills needed to excel in school and in life. In addition, more companies are partnering with the NAACP to offer scholarship opportunities specifically for our ACT-SO students,” he added.
The Beverly Hills/Hollywood ACT-SO Program has a long history of supporting youth to participate in the competition. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, Chair Joyce Clark and Co-Chair Joyce Norfleet sponsored zoom sessions featuring guest presenters proficient in some of the 34 categories in the ACT-SO competition.
“Actor Kareem Grimes, who plays Preach in ‘All American,’ joined our students for a conversation in February and last year T’keyah Crystal Keymah and Dawn Lewis met with our students,” said Clark. Other participants included Anthony Anderson, Kris Bowers, Jada Pinkett Smith.
To register, visit beverlyhillshollywoodnaacp.org and click on the ACT-SO tab. Complete the Online Application to receive updates and details about the events.
For more information, call the branch office at (323) 464-7616 or email Joyce Clark at [email protected] or Joyce Norfleet at [email protected].
