PITTSFIELD, Mass. — It's not a coincidence that unity is at the end of the word community. This was especially made evident at the Berkshire NAACP Freedom Fund Awards on Saturday. 

 

More than 200 people turned out at the Berkshire Hills Country Club for the presentation of awards and to hear speakers, many of whom showcased the importance of unification and continuing the fight to maintain the freedom and opportunities their predecessors strived to obtain. 

 

"Tonight, I want to speak candidly about a deeply troubling trend that threatens the freedom and opportunities we have fought so hard to achieve — the freedom many in this room have sacrificed for, protested for, and worked tirelessly to protect," Berkshire County Branch NAACP President Dennis Powell said in his opening remarks. 

 

Powell highlighted the recent work that has been done and continues to be done in dismantling programs designed to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion. 

 

On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order, "Ending Radical And Wasteful Government [Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion] Programs And Preferencing." 

 

The order criticizes the policy implemented by the Biden administration, describing it as wasteful and discriminatory. 

 

Powell demonstrated how some of the corporations that community members frequently visit, including Target, Walmart, Meta, and McDonalds, have scaled back or dismantled their DEI initiatives meant to foster equity and inclusion in their workplace.