U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas will headline the Cincinnati NAACP's Annual Freedom Fund Dinner on October 3, bringing one of the Democratic Party's most visible national voices to a Sharonville ballroom for a fundraiser that keeps the 111-year-old chapter running throughout the year. The dinner, themed “Unapologetic,” begins at 6 p.m. at the Sharonville Convention Center. Proceeds from the event support the chapter's ongoing advocacy work across Hamilton County.
According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Crockett will serve as keynote speaker for the 2026 dinner, and the fundraiser strengthens the branch's ability to stay engaged in community discussions and decision-making year-round. The event will be held at the Sharonville Convention Center, located at 11355 Chester Road, roughly 15 miles north of downtown Cincinnati. Tickets are available through the Cincinnati NAACP website, and the chapter can also be reached at 513-281-1900.
A Trailblazing Legal Career Turned National Political Platform
Crockett earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Houston Law Center in 2006, becoming the first African American alumnus of that law school elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the University of Houston Law Center. Before entering public office, she worked as a public defender in Bowie County, Texas, and later ran a private civil rights practice where she defended Black Lives Matter activists pro bono, per Britannica.
She won a seat in the Texas House of Representatives in 2020 before being elected to Congress in 2022 to represent Texas's 30th Congressional District. Her Democratic colleagues elected her Freshman Leadership Representative in 2023, a formal liaison role in House leadership that was established by House Democrats in 2016, the law school's alumni profile notes.
Crockett's Ohio appearance comes months after a bruising statewide campaign. She launched a bid for the U.S. Senate in Texas in December 2025 but lost the Democratic nomination to state Representative James Talarico in the March 2026 primary, one of Texas's most closely watched statewide races of the cycle, Britannica reports. Hoodline previously covered Crockett's exit from Congress and her subsequent launch of a political action committee.
A Chapter Rooted in Cincinnati Civil Rights History
The Cincinnati NAACP was chartered on February 12, 1915, making it one of the nation's oldest local chapters, according to the Cincinnati NAACP. Its past leadership includes Theodore M. Berry, Cincinnati's first African American mayor, and Marian Spencer, who led the 1955 desegregation of Coney Island and became the branch's first female president in 1981. The chapter's office is located at 3494 Reading Road in Cincinnati, and it advocates on voting rights, civil rights, opportunity, equity, representation and public awareness.
David Whitehead currently serves as president of the Cincinnati NAACP and chair of the Freedom Fund Dinner, leading the executive board after previously chairing the branch's political action and voter empowerment work. He also serves as political action chair for the Ohio Conference NAACP, per the chapter's leadership page. Under his tenure, the branch launched V.O.T.E. (Voting Outreach Training Education) in February 2024, becoming the first NAACP branch in the nation to deploy a custom 24-foot mobile civic engagement bus, as reported by Movers & Makers. The bus is outfitted with computer stations and Wi-Fi and provides voter registration and sample ballots directly in marginalized communities across Hamilton County.
Sponsorship Tiers and an Expanded Venue
Corporate and individual sponsorship tiers for the 2026 dinner reach up to $20,000 for the top “Freedom Funder” level, which includes podium recognition, two 10-person tables, VIP reception access and program ad placement. Sponsorship packages also include $15,000 Platinum and $10,000 Gold tiers, according to the chapter's event page.
The Sharonville Convention Center completed a $24 million expansion in January 2024, doubling its main exhibition space to 40,000 square feet inside the newly dedicated Todd Portune Hall, a project jointly funded by the city of Sharonville and Hamilton County, per Movers & Makers. The venue is Hamilton County's only LEED-certified meeting facility, featuring 65,000 square feet of multi-level event space, 19 meeting rooms and a 14,000-square-foot ballroom, according to the Sharonville Convention Center.
Crockett's visit adds to a run of national attention that has followed her since her first term, including a Saturday Night Live parody and a possible censure fight over remarks aimed at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. For a Cincinnati chapter marking more than a century of advocacy, the October 3 dinner offers a chance to pair that national profile with the local fundraising that keeps its voter outreach and civil rights work funded year-round.
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