Corpus Christi NAACP<\/a> is entering a new chapter under its new President, DeAnna King.<\/p>\nKing previously served as the organization\u2019s first Vice President and Political Action Chair. She said she is grateful and excited to step into the leadership role, saying her work is \u201ca calling\u201d and emphasizing her commitment to unity across the Coastal Bend.<\/p>\n
King\u2019s dedication to service is rooted in her upbringing in Corpus Christi\u2019s Hillcrest neighborhood, where she said generations of family members helped pave the way for Black residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy grandmother and her sister were the first African American family to live in that area, because it was predominantly white then,\u201d King said. \u201cIt was considered a country club. But then they moved in, and then more Blacks started moving in.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said those women, her family\u2019s matriarchs, shaped her values.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s amazing to see that my grandmother lived through that, and to be in a position to try to help combat some of that,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n
While Black History Month is a time of reflection, King said it deserves year-round recognition.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack history is more than just one month,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m glad people are recognizing at least one month.\u201d<\/p>\n
As President, King said her top priority is unifying local organizations that share similar goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo build unity within the community,\u201d King said. \u201cWe have other organizations here like LULAC, AFT. We\u2019re all fighting for the same thing, but we need to come together.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also encouraged younger generations to learn about their history and get involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cRead about your history, read about your ancestors, because they\u2019re trying to take that away from us. And get your education, school might not be fun but that’s one thing they can’t take away from you is your knowledge,” King said. “We\u2019re not always going to be here, so we need new leaders to fill our shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n
King said she is grateful for the opportunity to lead the local NAACP chapter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never thought I would see myself in this position,\u201d she said. \u201cBut God put me in this position, and I\u2019m willing to do the best that I can for people and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NAACP also operates a youth council for children and teens interested in community involvement.<\/p>\n
Throughout Black History Month, 3NEWS will continue highlighting leaders and community members making an impact across the Coastal Bend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Black History Month kicks off, 3NEWS sat down with DeAnna King, the new leader of the Corpus…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151543,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[155,157,156],"class_list":{"0":"post-151542","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-corpus-christi","8":"tag-corpus-christi","9":"tag-corpus-christi-headlines","10":"tag-corpus-christi-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151542\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}