Councilmembers Jimmy Van Bramer and Letitia James with Black History Month essay contest winners form P.S. 111, I.S. 204, William Cullen Bryant H.S. and the Jacob A. Riis After School Program. The second annual Black History Month Celebration and Awards Night was held at Jacob Riis Settlement House in Queensbridge Houses, Long Island City on February 28. As he did last year, Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, the founder of the ceremony, presented framed City Council proclamations to 10 honorees (up from last year’s total of eight) who were recognized for their activities in health care, tenants’ rights and youth development. New to the ceremony this year was an essay contest celebrating civil rights leaders, and a dozen winners from local schools accepted their awards while three of them read their essays. Entertainment included a praise dance and a spoken word performance, the latter presented by one of the award winners.
Van Bramer brought another councilmember to this year’s event: Letitia James, from the 35th District, representing Fort Greene, Crown Heights and Prospect Heights in Brooklyn. “I celebrate black history each and every month,” she said before joining Van Bramer in each recipient’s photo op. The first of the winners was Cynthia Davis, director of community outreach for The Floating Hospital. Van Bramer hailed her for believing that health care is a right for all. He also said everyone should be glad her son had recently (February 17) returned from duty in Afghanistan. Upon accepting the award, Davis asked the delegation from TFH, seated at a table below the stage, to stand and enjoy a round of applause for the work they do. The first of the tenants’ association presidents accepting the award was Carol Wilkins of Ravenswood TA, followed by Annie Cotton- Morris of the Woodside Houses TA, who is also head of all New York City Housing Authority TAs in Queens. Of her manifold duties Cotton-Morris said: “It’s a lot of work but it’s rewarding work.”
The winners of the essay contest wrote on the topic: If you could meet one civil rights leader, who would you like it to be? There were a dozen winners from William Cullen Bryant H.S., I.S. 204 (Oliver Wendell Holmes School), P.S. 111Q (Jacob Blackwell School) and the Jacob Riis After-School Program. Three of the four firstplace winners read their essays aloud to the audience. Deja Harley of I.S. 204 picked Martin Luther King and reflected on his Lincoln Memorial address. Genessi Ramos of P.S. 111 picked Mary McLeod Bethune and reviewed her career as a pioneer educator. Hanaa Joumad of the Jacob Riis After-School Program chose a relatively unknown person: Ruby Bridges, a young student who was the first to integrate a public school in New Orleans. She endured isolation and insult, which she did gracefully, according to Joumad, who received enthusiastic applause for her narrative. The fourth winner, David Álvarez, of William Cullen Bryant H.S., received his award in absentia.
After an interpretive “praise dance” by Margaret Barnes, Robert Burch, associated with the United Forties Sunnyside/Woodside community group, accepted his framed award and praised the young people in the essay contest. He begged parents to get involved with their kids’ lives, particularly at school. Lydia Green, the next winner, is a community liaison for Assemblymember Catherine Nolan, having taken the job after retiring from 32 years with the city Administration for Children’s Services. Raymond Allen, activity specialist for youth sports at the Long Island City Y, accepted his award. He said that he likes his work at the Y because it lets him do something positive. A fellow Y worker, Stanley Simon, head of adult athletics and recreational coordinator at the Long Island City branch, received his award and said he wished there had been such prize nights as this one when he was a little younger. Pam Thrower, president of Queensbridge TA for the past two years, accepted her award and praised everyone in her association for supporting her, saying that she couldn’t have done her work without it. William Newlin, executive director of Jacob Riis Settlement House, could not be present for his award, which was accepted by Elizabeth McQueen, according to instructions sent by Newlin, who praised the work she has done maintaining Queensbridge Park. He was lauded as a man who has greatly expanded the scope of Jacob Riis Settlement House.
Lashawn Marston, both an award winner and one of the night’s performers, was honored for his performances as Suga Ray, spoken word artist and advocate of “unity in our community”. As a showman, he drew a troupe of followers, a dozen or so who grouped below the stage with cameras while he rapped without music about youth on the streets of American cities, calling them “war victims”. He concluded with a recitation called “I Am Black History”, earning a loud ovation.
Van Bramer concluded the ceremonies by reminding the audience that the third awards night was only a year away.
