Earlier this week, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced that over the next three years, Google.org will provide a $3M grant and enable volunteering support to help scale the NAACP’s Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO). This program gives Black high school students –– over 300,000 to date –– a platform to bring their ideas to life, compete, and begin their journey to becoming leaders in STEM, humanities, business, and the arts.  

A 30-second spot debuted during the 2020 Grammy Awards, highlighted ACT-SO’s commitment to investing in the next generation of leaders who will have their own chance to make history. It featured 11 ACT-SO members from all around the county. 

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“We are thrilled to be able to continue and expand the ACT-SO tradition with help from Google,” said Larry Brown, NAACP ACT-SO Director. “We are committed to ensuring all of our students have access to mentorship in STEAM careers and this funding will help our outstanding youth, who exemplify scholastic and artistic achievement, to continue to pursue their passions free from limitations.”

The students featured in the commercial were:

  • Hector Cena, Greater Harrisburg ACT-SO
  • Sage Evans-Rainey, Baltimore County ACT-SO
  • Calvin Bell, III, Camden County ACT-SO
  • Brandi Pinnix, New Brunswick ACT-SO
  • Kameron Brown, Montgomery County MD
  • Raven Pace, Atlanta ACT-SO
  • Jaylon Mobley, Tri-Cities ACT-SO (TX)
  • Kelvin Dukes, Montgomery County ACT-SO
  • Consuela Watts, Montgomery County ACT-SO
  • Ophrah Kablan, Greenville ACT-SO
  • Nehemiah Harris, Memphis ACT-SO

To receive more information about the NAACP’s ACT-SO program, sign up here

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ABOUT THE NAACP:

Founded in 1909, the NAACP is the nation’s oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization. Its members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities. You can read more about the NAACP’s work and our six “Game Changer” issue areas by visiting naacp.org