“In the whole world you know, there are billion boys and girls who are young, gifted and Black. And that’s a fact!”
While those lyrics from Nina Simone’s song, “To Be Young, Gifted & Black,” state that there are billions, nine of them were honored, April 1, at the annual Young, Gifted & Black awards, held at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel & Convention Center, Monroeville.
This year’s award recipients were Tyler Batiste (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette), Damian Gilliard (PNC Financial), Joel Gray (Pittsburgh Pirates), Sara C. Kyles (LEAD Pittsburgh), Tamara Lynn Mitchell (Omnis, Inc., Washington, D.C.), Darien Reynolds (Aliquippa Jr. High School), Ryan Scott (Urban League of Pittsburgh), Mattie Collins-Woods (Apprentice, IBEW Union) and Bofta Yimam (WTAE-TV).
“I’m very humbled to get this award,” Collins-Woods said. “You never know who is watching you. I just want to set the best example. (This award) gives us a chance to be recognized by our own community. It shows us there are still positive people doing positive things and setting the best example possible.”
Young, Gifted & Black is an organization created to equip African Americans and people of color with the necessary skills to become successful in their careers and their communities. The awards luncheon was a celebration of 10 years of recognizing African American men and women, ages 16-42, for their service and commitment to their community and profession. This year’s awards ceremony added nine more to the list.
“I’ve grown attached to all these young people because I am so inspired by them. They tell me that I inspire them, but you just don’t know what an inspiration you are to me. And I’m just so gratified,” said Arzella Stewart-McCauley, PhD, YGB founder and CEO.
“The saying is, ‘Each one, teach one.’ I say, ‘Each one, encourage one. Each one, lift up one’ because these individuals here are outcomes of all of that. It really isn’t an honoring; it’s a celebration of you who do what you do with passion. I’d like to congratulate the nine honorees; keep doing what you are doing.”
Radio and TV host Chris Moore served as master of ceremonies, while Rev. Jacqueline Dewberry was the soloist. The New Pittsburgh Courier’s Ashley Johnson, a 2009 honoree, served as a presenter at the ceremony. Several past honorees, including Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker, gave reflections and advice to this year’s honorees.
“I am honored to be here with you, I’m proud to say you’re an honoree and I am proud to see the work that you’re doing and hear these stories so I can take them back to my village and pass these stories on,” he said. “That’s how change happens, by hearing stories… There are cracks in everything you’ve been through so that light can shine through, so that someone else can find their way back home.”
“At first, I knew nothing about this organization, but as soon as I heard the name, Young, Gifted & Black, the importance jumped out at me,” said Gray, an honoree. “As we learned today, the importance of Black (history) is very key to all history, in all, not just history in America, but history globally.”
Along with the recognition of the awardees, the program featured an in-depth slide-show presentation on the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture by John W. Franklin, senior manager in the museum’s Office of External Affairs, and a specialist in the history and traditions of communities of the African Diaspora.
His presentation included how the Smithsonian’s nineteenth-century museum, created by federal legislation signed by George W. Bush and opened Sept. 24, 2016, came to be; what it took for this dream to become reality; and how the historical images and artifacts displayed within the walls of the multi-floor museum, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., were acquired. He also spoke on the importance of knowing one’s history and passing it on to generations that come behind.
“It is our responsibility to make sure that, not only all our family members know the stories of our family, but that we teach them to the generations to come,” he said. “We can better know each other if we know each other’s history and our own history, and share them with other people. This is not only a museum about stories. And when I’m speaking to young people, I say, ‘What difference will you make in our society? What wrong will you right? What invention will you create that will merit you being in this museum?”
YGB plans to establish a scholarship. A golf tournament fundraiser will be held Friday, June 16, at the Meadowlinks Golf Course, Murrysville, to raise the initial funds. For more information or to donate, call 412-731-1161.
Like us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Pittsburgh-Courier/143866755628836?ref=hl
Follow @NewPghCourier on Twitter https://twitter.com/NewPghCourier
