Latest update March 26th, 2026 7:55 AM
Ambassador Sam Hinds was Honored with the President’s Award at NAACP “Justice for All” President’s Luncheon
Kaieteur News- Ambassador Sam Hinds, the Ambassador of Guyana to the United States of America (USA), based in Washington DC, who is also a former President and Prime Minister of Guyana, received the President’s Award from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Raleigh-Apex Branch (#5436) in Raleigh, NC. Presenting the Award was Dr. Mark S. Vasconcellos, President of the NAACP Raleigh-Apex Branch.
On December 7, 2024, the NAACP Raleigh Apex Branch hosted its first-ever “Justice for All” President’s Luncheon at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in Raleigh, North Carolina (NC). The keynote speaker of the event was Honorable North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls. The programme featured the presentation of awards and recognitions, including a special presentation to Ambassador Sam Hinds and his wife, Mrs. Yvonne Hinds. Other awards and recognitions included the “Medgar W. Evers Veterans Award,” named after the civil rights activist, soldier, and NAACP’s first field secretary in Mississippi, who was murdered in Mississippi in 1963; receiving this award was Mr. Alsonso Williams, a member of the NAACP Executive Branch. The “Firm Believer in Justice” Award was presented to NC Supreme Court Justice Allison Riggs and many other recognitions and awards honoring community & business leaders, corporate awards, and the “Peace and Justice” Award.
L-R: ED Da’Quan Love, Mrs. Yvonne Hinds, Ambassador Sam Hinds, Dr. Mark Vasconcellos, Justice Anita Earls.
The event was co-chaired by Honorable Justice Mike Morgan (Ret. NC) and NC attorney David Hayden from the Raleigh-based law firm Smith Anderson, both members of the NAACP Raleigh-Apex Branch. In attendance at the event was Dr. Paulette Dillard, President of Shaw University, the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in North Carolina; Dr. Charles D. Walton, the first African American elected to the Rhode Island Senate; Wake County Sheriff Willie Rowe; NC NAACP State Conference Executive Director Da’Quan Love, Karyn Vasconcellos, and many others.
The Raleigh-Apex branch received congratulatory letters from NAACP National President Derrick Johnson, NC NAACP State Conference President Deborah Maxwell, Ambassador Sam Hinds, U.S. House of Representatives Congressman Wiley Nickel, Congresswoman Deborah Ross, NC General Assembly Senate Democratic Leader Daniel T. Blue, Jr., Senator Gale Adcock, Senator Lisa Grafstein, and NC Attorney General Josh Stein, who is also the NC Governor-elect.
L-R: Ambassador Sam Hinds, ED Da’Quan Love, Dr. Paulette Dillard, Justice Anita Earls, Dr. Charles Walton, Dr. Mark Vasconcellos, Dr. B.A. Burch, and sitting Mr. B. Kasongo (Youth Branch President).
Dr. Mark S. Vasconcellos, is a born Guyanese. He has per fervidly led the NAACP Raleigh-Apex branch in fighting for justice in the well-publicized case in NC of a Black man, Henderson Atwater, who received 49 years to 75 years in prison for shooting a pellet gun. Dr. Vasconcellos has publicly held press conferences calling on the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate this case for government misconduct. During the “Justice for All” event, he was recognized for the branch’s achievement in winning two National Awards at the 115th NAACP National Convention in Las Vegas in July 2024. Last month, he received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition for outstanding and invaluable service to the community by Congressman Wiley Nickel, NC.
In Guyana, Dr. Vasconcellos is respected and known for his humanitarian work as well as his activism. He has visited all the prisons in Guyana except Mazaruni. He was involved in the successful release of Oscar Urbano, a Venezuelan worker who was arrested in 2020 and detained at Vigilance Police Police Station for many days until he was released on bond at the request of Dr. Vasconcellos’ intervention, and the case was eventually dropped. More recently, in May 2024, he reached out to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Office, expressing concerns and emphasizing accountability for an attack that can be perceived as an attempted murder against an unarmed man in Kingston, Georgetown, by a former Guyanese police officer, and another brutal case against a Venezuelan couple who were brutally attacked, beaten, and the female sexually assaulted, on the East Coast Demerara (ECD).
Dr. Vasconcellos, in addition to serving as the President of the NAACP Raleigh-Apex Branch, is also on the Executive Board of the NC NAACP State Conference. The NAACP is the largest and oldest Civil Rights organization in the USA and is known for fighting for justice and advocating for civil and human rights. In May 2024, Dr. Vasconcellos presented an NAACP plaque of recognition to His Excellency Dr. Irfaan Ali at State House, Georgetown, Guyana. He is scheduled to be in Guyana in early 2025 with Pastor Joel Beckham to continue their work through Victory International, the Raleigh-based non-profit and Project Life Guyana.
(Ambassador Sam Hinds was Honored with the President’s Award at NAACP “Justice for All” President’s Luncheon)
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