Earl Theodore Shinhoster, a Savannah native, ​joined the Civil Rights Movement  at age 13 by volunteering with the Connie Wimberly Youth Council of the Savannah Branch NAACP.

 

A year later,  he marshaled a successful march to push for new equipment and lights for his neighborhood’s playground. He later effectively led students to the Mayor’s office to press for a summer jobs program. Before graduating from Sophronia M. Tompkins High School, he helped register voters and became an astute student of Civil Rights legend W.W. Law.

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Mr. Shinhoster graduated from Morehouse College, where he was captain of the debate team, and studied to be a lawyer at Cleveland State University College of Law. He worked as an aide for Gov. George Busbee in the 1970s before joining the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People as its Southern Regional Director. He served in that role for 17 years, and later became acting executive director and chief executive officer of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest civil rights organization.

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Throughout his life, Mr. Shinhoster dedicated himself to serving others and fighting to uphold justice and equality for all people. He traveled the world as an agent of change advocating for the protection of the human rights of all citizens.

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While on an assignment, Mr. Shinhoster was killed June 11, 2000, in a car accident near Tuskegee, Alabama. He died a month shy of his 50th birthday.

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Earl always encouraged young people to work hard and to reach for the highest and best within themselves to give to the world. He believed in being a good citizen and often said we all have a role to play in making the world a better place. Following his example, the Earl T. Shinhoster Youth Leadership Institute is helping young people become strong leaders who will make positive changes in the world.