Lufkin Branch of NAACP Establishes Endowment at Angelina College Echoing the words of Dr. W.E.B. Dubois, chief architect of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Lufkin Branch of the noted organization on Tuesday presented officials with a check establishing the NAACP Endowment at Angelina College. “Education must not simply teach work, it must teach life,” Dubois said in the early 1900s. Dubois advocated “planned education that would cultivate the intellect as well as direct the actions of students for the purpose of improving life’s chances.” Lufkin branch president Dr. Guessippina Bonner quoted Dubois in her statement, adding, “The quality programs here at Angelina College, the academic, skill-oriented and technical, are to be commended and supported. Therefore, the Lufkin Branch of the NAACP wishes to give back, to lift up and encourage students at this college who may need a financial helping hand.” Dr. Bonner said that the Branch chose AC because “here is where many of the students of this area go as a first step, a returning process, or a fear modifier for a higher education.” Pastor Andro Branch, on-hand for the ceremony, said the Lufkin group has spent an inordinate amount of time developing ways to raise money for the endowment; a large portion of those funds were generated through a banquet held earlier this year. “Money should never be a reason not to further one’s education,” Branch said. “Scholarships like this can help remove those barriers. The NAACP has been doing this for generations, and we’re hoping other organizations will participate as well. If you think about it, anyone with an extra dollar or two lying around can help contribute in the task of furthering someone’s education. “The NAACP recognizes the importance of furthering the education of our young minds that possess an unquenchable desire to educate themselves,” Branch said. “They can always use a helping hand, and this is our way of encouraging those who may not have the resources others have. We hope this will aid them and encourage them not to give up their dreams.”
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