Thurbert Baker Spoke at NAACP Awards in Albany on Saturday

Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker spoke at the Albany-Dougherty 32nd annual Naacp Banquet on Saturday Night. Baker, who was a former State Representative is in his 3rd Term as State Attorney General is running for governor in 2010.

Pete Skiba of The Albany Herald:

Celebrating the NAACP's 100-year legacy of fighting for people's rights, Georgia Attorney General Thurbert E. Baker spoke with the future in mind Saturday night.

"We have achieved great success, but I want to remind people that we still have work to do," Baker said. "I want people to look forward to a better future that is why I am here tonight."

Baker spoke at the Albany-Dougherty NAACP 32nd annual Freedom Awards Celebration dinner at Monroe Comprehensive High School, on Lippitt Drive.

Baker's talk came after dinner while other officials including Albany Mayor Willie Adams, Dougherty County Commissioner Gloria Gaines and others spoke before dinner.

Baker has been attorney general since 1997 and has embarked on the race for Governor. He has made a name for himself by fighting crime, fraud and corruption, said William Wright, NAACP president.

"We wanted to give the people in Southwest Georgia an opportunity to come and hear what this person has done," Wright said. "We know he has tackled issues of domestic violence. We also want him to look at things that will be of particular interest to Americans of color. There seems to be a resurgence of hate crimes for example."

The awards dinner started in 1953 with the mission to end legal sanctions of segregation, Wright said. Friday's dinner acknowledged recognized and celebrated "freedom soldiers who have demonstrated with great passion efforts to manifest freedom and equality in the United States of America," he added.

The award winners were:

Freedom Award: Bishop John Burr.

Branch Service Award: Yvonne Reese,

Community Service Award: Tammy Green.

The night was special to many as the NAACP Centennial, but it may have been most special to Tabatha Holley, 15, at the dinner from Terrell County.

"I've been in the NAACP since the day I was born," Holley said. "I live and breathe the NAACP. I am going to continue the work of the NAACP for a long time."