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Greetings Dillard/Goldsboro Alumni & Friends!

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I officially welcome you all to the 2024-2025 fiscal year.  Your talents, energy and participation will be vital as we enter an exciting period in our history.   In 2026 we will commemorate our 70th Anniversary, but next year, we will celebrate the 70th Annual HOMECOMING, which was first held in 1955.  These are milestones that so many alumni thought would not be seen. Let us never forget the landscape of history that our organization has seen.

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Shortly following the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, what would be known as Dillard High School, was founded.  During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, our ground-breaking charter with the state of North Carolina was established.  Years after the Little Rock Nine, the Class of 1970 became the first group of Dillard High students to graduate from our beloved GHS.  

 

We are products of this pioneering history, and here we still stand.  We own and operate the building where many attended elementary school, which still serves as a cornerstone of the neighborhood.  We have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to students who walked the same halls as we did.  We still come back home every year, for the last 70 years, to honor the tradition Professor Brown and his students created!  

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In a time that standing together as a community is more important than ever, I pray this organization can be a foundation on which this community is able to stand strong. We find purpose in giving back, no matter how large or small. We celebrate the rich heritage and work together to build on it.   We will keep eyes on the future, while staying grounded in our community-centered foundation. Our goal remains to uplift the next generation of alumni and support the communities in which they live.

 

 I will repeat what I have said many times before, “The Community needs Dillard/Goldsboro Alumni and Friends”.  My promise again to you is that I will continue to serve this organization with all that I have.  I will honor its legacy and uphold its integrity. I am humbled at the privilege to serve as National President of this, our historic organization!  

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Now, Let’s Get to Work!

 

Jamarius D. Coley ‘97

National President, Dillard/Goldsboro Alumni & Friends, Inc.