Celebrating 50 years! During the past 50 years, with the help of corporate and individual donations, NAEA have
assisted 264 African American young people pursue higher education through its scholarship program.

The NAEA scholarship program was the brainchild of seven NAEA members: Mr. James C. Jackson, Mr. Arthur
Walker, Mr. Richard E. Williams, Dr. James Warner, Dr. Bernard Sims, Mr. Moses L. Walker and Mr. Junius DeGroat.
The seven individuals, five of whom were employees of the Upjohn Company (now Pfizer,Inc.),conferred to
develop a plan to involve Upjohn in a program to benefit Kalamazoo’s African American community. The group
developed a proposal for the Upjohn Company to lend financial support to economically deserving African
American students seeking an opportunity for higher education.

The Upjohn Company accepted the proposal, with minor alterations, and the scholarship fund was established in
late 1971 with a $5,000 grant. Upjohn also pledged to match up to $5,000 per year for five years. Mr. Sidney B.
Williams, Jr., an attorney with Upjohn, assisted the NAEA board with the legal details to establish the fund and the
NAEA scholarship program began.

NAEA awarded five $1,000 college scholarships annually to African American high school seniors. NAEA’s financial
commitment to the scholarship recipients continued through four years of their undergraduate studies provided
the recipients met the college, university and NAEA academic standards. Scholarship recipients were selected by
NAEA on the basis of financial need, potential for academic success and acceptance at a college or university. Five
local high school seniors became the first NAEA scholarship recipients in June 1972. The late Coleman A. Young, at
the time a State Senator, was the keynote speaker for the first NAEA awards ceremony.

In 1991, NAEA sponsored its first GospelFest by organizing a multi-cultural gospel choir to perform in concert with
the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and a major recording artist. Over the years, the GospelFest Choir has
performed with award winning artists Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Donnie McClurkin, Lou Rawls, Jennifer Holiday,
Take 6, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Richard Smallwood, Men of Standard, the Harlem Gospel Choir and Neshama
Carlebach and the Glory to God Singers. For the past several years, the NAEA GospelFest Choir, Miller Auditorium
and the Michigan Festival of Sacred Music joined in the presentation of a gospel concert.

NAEA collaborated with Pharmacia & Upjohn in 2000 to provide summer internships to high achieving high school
students interested in pursuing a career in engineering. NAEA helped place 30 students during the 10-year
program. Also in 2000, Ronda E. Stryker and William Johnston Foundation became a major contributor. This
enabled the organization to give more scholarships each year and increase the award.

NAEA continues to provide scholarships to Kalamazoo County high school students. For students who receive the
Kalamazoo Promise, our financial assistance is used to cover the expenses not covered by the Promise. NAEA is
continuing the mission of educational advancement by co-sponsoring college fairs and workshops on how to
complete a college application and FAFSA forms for high school seniors, NAEA has hosted writing workshops for
eighth-graders planning to attend the Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center. NAEA has initiated an
“Along the Way” project for high school ninth graders who experienced difficulty in the transition from middle
school to high school. The members of NAEA are individually involved with advocacy programs for parents and
students.