Raoul Cunningham , who has served as president of the Louisville Branch NAACP since 2004, is stepping down, he announced at the organization’s annual Freedom Fund banquet at the Muhammad Ali Center Saturday.
Cunningham said he will not seek reelection this year and asked members of the organization to give their support to his successor.
The Louisville native has filled the shoes of one of the city’s most prominent figureheads for civil rights since he joined the Louisville NAACP Youth Council in 1957 as a 14-year-old boy. Three years later, he was part of a cohort of high school students who initiated a months-long campaign of protests in 1961 that culminated in nearly 200 businesses dissolving segregation policies.
He maintained a strong presence as a racial justice activist for years to come, both in Louisville and elsewhere.
“I started this as Chairman to serve a two-year term, and it’s developed into a 20-year term,” Cunningham said. “It’s been a pleasure and an honor to for me to serve.”