Bakari Sellers and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist headline televised NAACP event

THURSDAY, Oct. 14 — A special televised event hosted by the Lansing NAACP will feature CNN commentator Bakari Sellers and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist. The 55th annual Freedom Fund Celebration airs Saturday at 8 p.m. on WLNS-TV 6. The special theme for this year’s program is “Passion Led Us Here.” Repeat broadcasts will air Sunday at noon on WLAJ-TV 53 and Friday, Oct. 22, at 12:30 p.m. on ELAJ.

At age 22, Sellers became the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and made history as the youngest African American elected official in the United States. He vacated his elected position in 2014 and has since provided political analysis and social commentary for CNN and penned the New York Times best-selling novel, “My Vanishing Country: A Memoir.” Sellers was named to TIME’s 40 Under 40 three times and hosts the Bakari Sellers Podcast.

“Bakari Sellers is a proven leader in our country,” said Fonda Brewer, chair of the Freedom Fund Celebration, in a press release. “He gives a voice to the voiceless all the while providing intriguing insight and analysis of the political arena and how it affects our vulnerable communities.”

Gilchrist became the first African American to serve as Lieutenant Governor of Michigan when he took office with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2019.

“Having these two historical voices speak, Lt. Gov. Gilchrist and Mr. Sellers, truly represents the importance of passion to be a servant for the least of us,” Brewer said.