(PHOTOS) NAACP DeKalb County Branch holds tree planting event
NAACP DeKalb County Branch Youth Council member Kylie Hill carries tools and pots for dirt during the NAACP DeKalb County Branch tree planting project at DeKalb Memorial Park on Wilkinson Drive in Southeast Atlanta on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
By Dean Hesse, contributor
Atlanta, GA — The NAACP DeKalb County Branch partnered with Trees Atlanta on Saturday, Feb. 19 to plant 17 trees at DeKalb Memorial Park on Wilkinson Drive in Southeast Atlanta.
NAACP DeKalb Remembrance Project Coalition Chair D. E. Smith said, “When the opportunity came up to plant more trees, we thought this would take care of a lot of different functions. Number one, it will help us to expand our Remembrance Program so that we can remember all the victims of racial terrorism, two, it would increase the tree canopy in DeKalb County, and we wanted to address that. This is something the DeKalb NAACP is dedicated to, the health and the environment in our neighborhood. Any time we’re lucky enough to address all these themes with one action, we’re on top of it.”
Smith said the Remembrance Project has installed three historic markers to honor people who were lynched in DeKalb County and worked with Trees Atlanta to place a Remembrance Tree on the campus of Rainbow Park Baptist Church in greater Decatur.
NAACP Dekalb Branch President Lance Hammonds told young people among the volunteers that if they want to engage in the community, the branch had a platform for them.
“This is the type of work that we do,” Hammonds said. “This is Black History Month, so we’re remembering history and this Remembrance Project is a great project, it’s going to be an asset to our community, and it’s going to go toward our mission of eliminating racial hatred and discrimination in our country, but you start by knowing your history.”
To find out more about the NAACP DeKalb County Branch visit: naacpdekalb.org.
Shumard oak, river birch and black gum were planted during the NAACP DeKalb County Branch tree planting project at DeKalb Memorial Park on Wilkinson Drive in Southeast Atlanta on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
NAACP DeKalb County Branch Youth Council Treasurer Christian Hill, 12, holds a Dekay’s Brownsnake, one of the wildlife inhabitants of DeKalb Memorial Park. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Volunteer Sydni Hampton, on left, and NAACP DeKalb County Branch Environmental Climate Justice Program Chair and founder of Sustainable Georgia Futures, Adrienne Rice prepare the ground for a new tree. Photo by Dean Hesse.
From left, volunteers Elias Rainey, Sydni Hampton and NAACP DeKalb Environmental Climate Justice Program Chair Adrienne Rice pose with their newly planted tree. Photo by Dean Hesse.
(l-r) NAACP DeKalb County Branch President Lance Hammonds, NAACP DeKalb ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics) Chair Freda Hammonds, Willette Jackson from Trees Atlanta, NAACP member volunteer Chris Robinson and DeKalb County Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry pose with their newly planted tree. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Volunteer Brandon Butler and NAACP member volunteer Chartel Hawkins carry the tree they are about to plant to its spot. Photo by Dean Hesse.
Willette Jackson from Trees Atlanta briefs volunteers on the planting process during the NAACP DeKalb County Branch tree planting project at DeKalb Memorial Park on Wilkinson Drive in Southeast Atlanta on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
NAACP DeKalb County Branch Youth Council members Christian Hill, on left, and his sister Kylie Hill remove their tree from its pot with help from Trees Atlanta’s Willette Jackson. Photo by Dean Hesse.
NAACP DeKalb County Branch President Lance Hammonds, on left, and DeKalb County Super District 6 Commissioner Ted Terry prepare the ground for a new tree during the NAACP DeKalb County Branch tree planting project at DeKalb Memorial Park on Wilkinson Drive in Southeast Atlanta on Saturday, Feb. 19, 2022. Photo by Dean Hesse.
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