50th Anniversary Freedom Fund DinneR SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2026 AT THE SHEDD
Join us in celebrating 50 years of sustaining the work from 1976 to 2026, through victories, cultural change, and perseverance through struggle. Since 1976, the Eugene-Springfield NAACP has worked to advance civil rights, racial justice, and opportunity throughout Lane County.
The Freedom Fund Dinner is our signature annual celebration and fundraiser, bringing together community members, businesses, advocates, educators, elected leaders, and partners who share a commitment to building a stronger and more equitable future.
Across the country, efforts to address racial inequities are being dismantled while many families face growing barriers to healthcare, economic opportunity, housing stability, and food security. Black communities and other historically marginalized groups continue to experience disproportionate inequities in health, economic mobility, and access to opportunity. As these challenges grow, so does the need for trusted organizations that provide support, advocacy, and leadership.
The freedoms, opportunities, and protections that generations fought to secure must continue to be defended and strengthened. At a time when civil rights, voting rights, and equity initiatives are under immense pressure, the work of the NAACP remains as essential as ever.
The Eugene-Springfield NAACP is meeting this moment through direct services, youth development, community organizing, legal redress, and civil rights advocacy.
Your sponsorship helps ensure that trusted community programs, civil rights, and pathways to opportunity remain strong and accessible when they are needed most.
PERFORMANCES BY
3:00 - 5:00 PM IN Jacqua Concert Hall
The Dallas Boggs Connector Award honors individuals who embody Dallas’s legacy of bringing people together. Dallas was a respected community leader, mentor, and advocate who connected people to relationships, resources, opportunities, and one another—particularly within Eugene-Springfield’s Black community.
Voting ends on August 26th, 2026.
Rev. DeLeesa Meashintubby is a wife, a mother, and grandmother. She is a compassionate servant, and community-minded leader who is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of others. Through her ministry and community service, she works to encourage, empower, and uplift individuals and families, especially those in need of hope and support.
With a heart for people and a passion for service, she serves as the executive director of the Volunteers In Medicine Clinic of Lane Clinic, where she leads with faith, compassion, and purpose. Her dedication to both the church and the community reflects her belief that serving others is not just a responsibility-- it is a calling.
Rev. DeLeesa Meashintubby
MIA BOWMAN
Mia Bowman is a registered nurse, author, and community health leader whose work bridges clinical care and creative purpose. With nearly four decades of nursing experience spanning labor and delivery, ICU, emergency, and hospice care, she has devoted her career to serving others at every stage of life.
Ibrahim Coulibaly was a passionate community advocate who had a gift for bringing people together. Whether through his work with the NAACP, Human Rights Commission, labor movement and SEIU, or simply through the relationships he built with people throughout Eugene-Springfield, Ibrahim led with warmth, courage, and a deep belief in the dignity of every person. His legacy is reflected in the many people and communities he connected, advocated for, and inspired.
Ibrahim Coulibaly
Deborah Lange-Reynolds
Deborah serves as Senior Executive Advisor to the Eugene/Springfield NAACP, bringing extensive experience as an educator and administrator to her advocacy for racial justice, educational equity, and community empowerment. She provides strategic guidance and builds partnerships that center Black families, strengthen community voice, and advance equitable opportunity, carrying forward the legacy and wisdom of the generations who built the work before her.