Oscar Eason
Carolyn Riley-Payne Seattle ACT-SO Committee Chair
Committee Members
The Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and ScientificOlympics (ACT-SO) is a major youth initiative of the National Associationfor the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Founded in 1978, by the renownedauthor and journalist, Vernon Jarrett, ACT-SO provide a forum through which African-American youth demonstrate academic, artistic, and scientific prowess and expertise, thereby gaining the same recognition often only reserved for entertainers and athletes.
ACT-SO, “The Olympics of the Mind”’ is rooted in the firm conviction that African-Americans can succeed and compete at the same superior levels as their counterparts in classrooms, boardrooms, and laboratories across the nation and abroad. The objectives of ACT-SO is to prepare, recognize and reward African-American youth who exemplify scholastic and artistic excellence.
The goals of ACT-SO include:
1. To mobilize the adult community for the promotion of academic and artistic excellence among African-American students.
2. To recognize academic achievement among African-American students in a manner commensurate with the recognition afforded athletes.
3. To provide and assist African-American students with the necessary skills and tools to establish goals and acquire the confidence and training to make a successful contribution to society.