The newly minted East Chicago chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wasn’t kidding when its organizers said they were going to throw a celebration.
The chapter’s inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Event had around 300 RSVPs Friday, but by the middle of lunch, emcee Malcolm Jones announced that 477 well-wishers packed Dynasty Banquets in North Hammond for fellowship and inspiration. The oppressive cold was no match for the participants — many of whom braved the cold to do the annual march to Hammond City Hall at 6 a.m.
Indiana NAACP State Conference President Sadie Harper-Scott was amazed at the turnout.
“East Chicago, you know how to do,” she said, giving special kudos to Chapter President Benita White Arnold. “We had many people call and say they wanted to restart the chapter, but I waited and waited and waited. Then Ms. Benita called, and my phone was ringing, and it was texting; she even reached out to me on (social media): ‘Where are you!?’”
Harper-Scott said the chapter’s revival couldn’t have come at a better time: when East Chicago State Representative Earl Harris Jr. and State Senator Lonnie Randolph were struggling with the redistricting that Indiana ultimately voted to reject. The support the new chapter gave was helpful in keeping up the momentum, she said.
During her address, White Arnold said she resurrected the group because she was “disappointed”: In Lake County’s voter turnout, in that the EC NAACP headquarters wasn’t filled up daily, and in “how many men found excuses for why they couldn’t vote for a woman” when East Chicago had the only Kamala Harris campaign office in Indiana.
“As if leadership is determined by gender instead of qualification, experience and character,” she said. “So I have to ask you a question: Is Project 2025 real to you now? And another question: Do you feel like America is great for everyone?
“We are seeing people criminalized for something as simple as giving water to someone waiting to vote. That is not a coincidence; that is a direction. And if our vote didn’t matter, they wouldn’t be working so hard to silence it.”
Indiana NAACP ACTSO Adviser Barbara Bolling-Williams said the EC chapter coming back is the icing on the cake as the organization marks 117 years next month.
“They’re critical for us,” she said. “We’re very territorial here (in terms of the chapters), and we had strong chapters in Gary, Hammond and East Chicago in the past. Then we realized EC wasn’t showing up, but now, they’re welcoming us. The cities are different and have their own leadership, but they’ll come together with collective issues.
The event honored 11 people, including U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, State Senator Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, and Indiana State Representative Earl Harris, D-East Chicago.
The chapter, East Chicago 3046-B, resurrected itself in November 2024 after nearly a decade by petitioning the state NAACP and was regranted its charter in February, its president, Benita White Arnold, said. The new group, which attracted 84 new members when it needed 50 for the recharter, held its inaugural meeting April 16, where it elected officers, she said.
For more information or join the EC NAACP, visit https://eastchicagonaacp.org/ or email eastchicagonaacp@gmail.com.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
