![To address racial tensions in the Baker community, the Okaloosa County NAACP has scheduled a town hall meeting this weekend. [CONTRIBUTED GRAPHIC]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-95317960-14eb-73a6-e053-0100007fd4fe-80328735.jpeg)
BAKER —The Okaloosa County Branch NAACP will hold a town hall meeting in Baker to address the racial tensions and issues that have plagued the community for years.
The meeting is 2 p.m. Oct. 19 at Lebanon Missionary Baptist Church, 1288 Washington Ave., Baker, under the leadership of Pastor Nathaniel Sledge Jr. The community is invited and encouraged
to attend.
According to Branch President Lewis Jennings, “There have been a number of racial incidents happening in Baker that suggest we need to take a more proactive approach to assess the extent of problem and explore ways we as an organization can help combat the problem.
"We (the NAACP) are not interested in stirring up more tensions, rather we are focused on helping the community understand their problems, define ways to address them, and offering hard work to help ease ongoing and/or future tensions.
To that end I will be working with local pastors, community leaders and others around the area to bring to the table all the resources we have at our disposal," Jennings said.
The Okaloosa County Branch NAACP has been chartered since 1948 and celebrates more than 71 years of community service in civil rights advocacy throughout the county.
For more information contact the NAACP at naacpfwb@naacp.gccoxmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: NAACP to host town hall meeting Saturday