With the new school year underway, it’s important to highlight new clubs on campus. In this article, Trinity Williams, the founder and president of the newly established PC NAACP Chapter, provides us with details about the Chapter she is leading on campus. Williams, inspired by her families’ hard work ethic, is a Junior at PC, majoring in political science and minoring in both English and Pre Law. Williams is also a Division I volleyball player, who hopes to get her Juris Doctorate. Williams, however, is most passionate about politics and how to bring about social and political change within communities. 

It is important to provide some historical background information on NAACP Chapters. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, NAACP for short, was formed in 1909 in the hopes of advancing justice for Black Americans. The NAACP was started by Oswald Garrison Boyd and W.E.B. DuBois. The organization has played, and continues to play, a major role in the liberation of Black people in the history of the United States. 

This past summer, Williams was inspired to create the first PC NAACP Chapter while interning with the Greenville NAACP branch. Williams attended a racial forum and felt inspired by how much change the NAACP was bringing to the community. Williams said that the forum showed how the NAACP Chapters were able to bring about real change in their communities, and she wanted to see something similar happen on PC’s campus.

“At the forum, I realized that the NAACP chapter was able to work with local officials to find resolutions for changes needed in the community,” Williams said. “After the forum, I started thinking that I’m probably not the only one, especially at PC, who wants to see a change like this occur.”

After reflecting on her experience at the forum, Williams had the idea to start a PC NAACP Chapter on campus. The PC NAACP Chapter will hopefully become a space for minority students to come together. Williams would like all students to know that the mission of the PC NAACP Chapter is to “Secure political, educational, and economic equality, to eliminate race-based discrimination, and to ensure the health and wellbeing of all persons.” 

The PC NAACP Chapter is focused on community service and educating members of the PC community. They want to educate students, faculty, and staff about politics, as well as social and economic equality and equity. For this chapter, specifically, there is a focus on equal political representation, voting, and juvenile justice, among other things. Being a national election year, there is an increased focus on voting.

So far, the biggest difference the chapter has made at PC has been through encouraging students to register to vote in the upcoming election. Additionally, a lot of people have shown interest in joining the PC NAACP Chapter on campus. Williams said that a lot of people have expressed their excitement about voting, especially because, for most students, this is the first national election they can participate in. The Chapter has registered students to vote and has even helped some students through the process of getting their absentee ballots. The Chapter also aims to raise awareness of voter disenfranchisement, which has historically marginalized communities of color. 

The PC NAACP Chapter has gathered an impressive leadership team to help establish their on-campus presence. Williams, as previously mentioned, is the president and founder of the PC NAACP. Jeremiah Jackson is the Vice President. The second Vice President is Sophie Sullinger. The Head treasurer is Gabriella Evans. The assistant treasurer is Carrington Blackmore. The Head secretary is Madison Lort. The Assistant secretary is PC Junior Florence. 

To get more information about the PC NAACP Chapter on campus, or to learn how you can be a part of the work they are doing, contact Trinity Williams at [email protected].