More than 200 people reaffirmed their commitment to civil rights during the 31st annual champagne reception and jazz concert of the Princeton Committee of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. (LDF). The evening was held at the Stuart Country Day School in Princeton.
"Even if it were only for Brown v. Board of Education, the LDF would need to be included among the top five organizations that have changed this country the most," said Theodore M. Shaw, director-counsel and president of the national LDF, who attended the event to honor philanthropist and scholar William H. Scheide. "And we’ve done so much more."
In honoring Mr. Scheide, Mr. Shaw noted that the Princeton resident has been the single largest contributor to the LDF in its history. Marveling at how Mr. Scheide built a life of "books, music, justice and love," he called him a "quiet trailblazer."
LDF was founded in 1940 under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall to secure the civil and constitutional rights of African Americans and other people of color. The Princeton Committee was formed in 1975. The program concluded with a rousing hour of jazz from the Wycliffe Gordon Quartet, introducing vocalist Jennifer Jade Ledesna.
Donations to the Princeton Committee of the LDF can be made by contacting Adrienne Paris at (609) 466-4855 or Jenny Crumiller at [email protected].

