ROCHESTER, Minn.- The NAACP is bringing the Afro-Academic Cultural Technological and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO) to Rochester for local high school students this August.
The Rochester Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) announced the upcoming launch of a new program in Rochester, Minnesota called the Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics (ACT-SO). ACT-SO, an initiative of the NAACP was founded in 1978 by the renowned author and journalist Vernon Jarrett and is rooted in the belief that Black/African Americans can excel at the highest levels in various fields when provided with the right support. Often referred to as the "Olympics of the Mind," ACT-SO aims to recruit, stimulate, improve, and encourage high academic and cultural achievements among high school students. According to Lancet Public Health and the National Center for Health Statistics, education is a neglected social determinant of health that is also intrinsically linked to well-being. ACT-SO is a yearlong program with competitions in STEM, humanities, business, and performing, visual, and culinary arts. It pro