Leaders in Western New York are mourning the loss of former NAACP Buffalo Chapter President Frank Mesiah.

The 89-year-old civil rights champion died Friday night.

Mesiah spent nearly two decades leading the local NAACP.

The Buffalo State College graduate also worked on ECMC board of directors, the state department of labor and Canisius College.

"His goal in life was to make things better for people, and not just African Americans, but for people in general. Frank wanted a Buffalo that was diverse a Buffalo that was fair and just, and he worked on it every day until his dying day," said Buffalo Common Council President Darius Pridgen.

The NAACP says it plans to honor Mesiah at an awards dinner June 9.

The group's national president is expected to speak there.