Elizabeth Keckley Awards presented to leaders working to preserve and strengthen American middle/working class

Elizabeth Keckley Awards presented to leaders working to preserve and strengthen American middle/working class

L to r: Kevin Judd, Esq. President, National Bar Association; Honorable Eric Holder, Karen Carrington, Co-Chair, Black Women for Positive Change, Media and Events; Dr. Stephanie Myers and Delegate Daun S. Hester, National Co-Chairs, Black Women for Positive Change.

      On Wednesday, Dec.  7, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Black Women for Positive Change (BW4PC) hosted their third “Elizabeth Keckley Awards” Ceremony.

Four honorees were saluted for their outstanding lifelong efforts to preserve and strengthen the American Middle/Working Class. Honorees were Eric Holder, 82nd Attorney General of the United States and Partner in Covington and Burlin; Rev. Aisha Karimah, former Director of Community Affairs, WRC/NBC TV, Washington, D.C. and Associate Minister for Social Justice, Metropolitan AME Church; John “Jake” Oliver, Publisher, Afro American Newspaper, celebrating its 125 Anniversary; and Stanley Jackson, President/CEO, Anacostia Economic Development, based in Washington, D.C.

The Elizabeth Keckley Awards™ are named for a woman who was born a slave in 1818, in Virginia, who managed to purchase her freedom and become the premiere clothing designer for Mrs. Abraham Lincoln. Mrs. Keckley is the symbol of Black Women for Positive Change, a national/global civic network working to “Change the Culture of Violence in America, and the World”; and to “Preserve and Strengthen the American Middle/Working Class.”

In a joint statement, Black Women for Positive Change Co-Chairs Delegate Daun S. Hester and Dr. Stephanie E. Myers said, “It is a pleasure to honor outstanding individuals with Elizabeth Keckley Awards, for their role in preserving and strengthening the middle, working classes. Our honorees have operated at the highest levels of government, media, business and faith institutions. The Honorable Eric Holder, Rev. Aisha Karimah, Stan Jackson and Jake Oliver are leaders of great stature and yet, they show great humility.

Our youth need to see men and women who place a priority on leading institutions, providing jobs, developing neighborhoods and teaching principals of faith. We, the Black Women for Positive Change and our member Good Brothers salute our honorees.”

Among the BW4PC Members and guests who assembled for the reception were Judge Robert Wilkins, U.S. Court of Appeals and author of the Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100 Year Mission to Create the Museum of African American History and Culture; Kevin Judd, Esq., President of the National Bar Association; Dr. Ben Chavis, President of the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA); Denise Rolark Barnes, Publisher, Washington Informer; Dr. Elsie Scott, Founder and Director of the Ronald W. Walter Leadership and Policy Center; Louis Dubin, Partner, Redbrick, LMD, a development and investment firm; Rev. Dr. Barbara Reynolds, author of the newly released biography of Coretta Scott King, titled, My Life, My Love, My Legacy; Patricia Duncan, author of A Defining Moment: Barack Obama: The Historical Journey to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Dr. Hattie Washington, author of Driven to Succeed; and Dr. Birthhale Archie, Annette R. Gibson and Dr. Tribly Barnes-Green, re-presenting the National Black Nurses Association (NBNA)

For more information about Black Women for Positive Change go to www.blackwomenforpositivechange.org.