The East Wake NAACP Youth Council meets monthly at Pleasant Grove. Since it was founded in 1909, the NAACP has provided and trained more leaders for the black community than any other secular organization. Virtually every black American leader, public and private, local and national, learned the spirit of public service and the techniques of leadership through the NAACP. Roy Wilkins, Rosa Parks, Vernon Jordan, Julian Bond, Andrew Young, Patricia Harris, Thurgood Marshall, Ralph Bunche, Dr. Ronald Walters, and many others served their apprenticeships in the Association’s youth units – including the NAACP Chairman of the Board of Directors, Roslyn M. Brock and the President and CEO, Benjamin Todd Jealous.
Today there are over 600 NAACP Youth Councils, High School Chapters and College Chapters actively involved in social justice advocacy by addressing local issues as well as a national agenda made up of problems including: Education, Economic Empowerment, Health, Juvenile Justice, and Civic Engagement. The NAACP is the only major civil rights organization, which encourages young people to participate fully in all aspects of its structure, including membership on the National Board of Directors.