Thurbert Baker to Speak at NAACP 32nd Annual Freedom Awards in Albany on Saturday.

Pete Skiba
Staff writer for the Albany Herald reports:

The state's top attorney plans to speak in Albany at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's 32nd annual Freedom Awards Celebration at 6 p.m. Saturday.

This year's theme for the event is "NAACP Centennial: Celebrating a Legacy of 100 Years."

Thurbert Baker, Georgia's attorney general since 1997, will be in the city to attend the awards ceremony in the Monroe Comprehensive High School cafeteria at 900 Lippitt Drive.

Before taking office as attorney general, Baker served five terms as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives.

As befits the month of October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Baker has a history of fighting domestic violence and assisting victims, a news release from the Albany-Dougherty Branch of the NAACP said.

"Baker fought to make it a crime to commit an act of domestic violence in the presence of a child," the release stated. "He has worked with local law enforcement and communities to assist victims of domestic violence all over Georgia."

As a legislator and attorney general, Baker has fought crime and corruption. Prosecuting corruption is listed as part of his official duties on the state attorney general Web site, law.ga.gov/02/ago/home.

"As the public's lawyer, I have a tremendous responsibility to protect the public as well as to uphold the laws and the Constitution of Georgia," Baker said on the Web site. "Together with the more than 200 employees in my office, we work every day to serve the needs of Georgia's citizens."