the community on serving on state boards and commissions. Within the past five years, she has been appointed by the International Grand Basileus of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. to serve on its national board of directors (2010-2014) as national youth coordinator — developing the curriculum and guidelines and overseeing all youth affiliate programs. She is the first to be appointed to serve in this capacity from Colorado. She “chooses to take an active role in my community because African American relevance is moving in a direction that does not uplift our people. We must all work toward increasing African American relevance and enhance our brand in the economic, business and political arena.” In a role with a broad lens, she sees several challenges that need to be addressed in the African American community including economic development, healthcare disparities and housing solutions that keep families in their home. She also says “far too many black and brown men are serving prison sentences for non-violent drug crimes – marijuana possession.” On elections she says, “We must register to vote and take action on Election Day — and that means all elections.” To groom leaders, she says “we must be at the table in numbers to effectively capitalize on many opportunities that seem to escape us.” That means taking a proactive approach to “create succession committees whose purpose is to groom the next level of leaders to fill boards and commission seats, run for office or serve as executive directors of organizations.” In her future are several books with “words and actions that make a difference in people’s lives.” Hairston plans to run for political office for a termlimited seat in 2015. She would like to be remembered as an individual who tried to make a difference in the life of the people she served.
Black Chamber of Commerce and its business members. She is committed to creating programming and services that meet the demanding and everchanging needs of business owners and professionals. Involved with numerous African American social and professional organizations, she continuously shows her commitment to providing tools, resources, support, and access to children to ensure they have the foundation needed to successfully grow. She has encouraged Colorado children to start their own businesses while assisting in the development of a youth entrepreneur marketplace, provided intern opportunities, and is even preparing to launch a series of youth entrepreneur workshops. She chooses to take an active role “to afford others opportunities that I was once provided. I believe that in order to best impact the community in which I live, work, and play, it is critical for me to take an active role in order to get the positive results I desire. Singleton believes a great challenge facing the African-American community is making sure that the “community” is supportive of each other. She believes that Blacks must continue to support and promote Black businesses; that it still takes a village to raise a child; and that we have to be our brothers’ keeper. She knows from her own personal experiences that working together as a unified body makes the African-American community a stronger and more effective force. She is committed to ensuring not only the bottom-line growth of the Chamber’s members’ businesses but healthy economic development for the entire Colorado market. Singleton would like to be remembered “as an individual who was always willing to run towards challenges and never accepted a ‘No’— while also being very approachable, having a sincere heart and an optimistic attitude.”
surrounding communities. We have tripled the vendor participation, quadrupled the overall attendance, reestablished the Miss Juneteenth Pageant after a four-year hiatus, and created the Juneteenth Music Festival featuring nationally recognized bands along with Denver’s best local entertainers,” he says. When asked why he chooses to take an active role, Harris says, “We are the ‘They.’ “Oftentimes people ask questions like, ‘Why don’t THEY have more activities for children in my neighborhood? Or why don’t THEY have Juneteenth for a whole week like we had in the 1980s? My typical response was who is THEY? My answer now is we are THEY,” Harris says. He chooses to take an active role because, “My passion for Juneteenth stems from my background and growing up in northeast Denver. My earliest and most fond memories are connected to Juneteenth and Five Points. Leading the Juneteenth celebration is an honor that I hold in the highest regard.” Harris believes the biggest challenges facing the African-American community are education, employment, communication and collaboration. “We have to take action and be the change that we want to see,” he says. Harris is working to help redevelop his family’s property on the Welton Corridor while helping improve the overall image of the Five Points neighborhood through managing what will be “the best festival Denver and Colorado hosts.” He is working to be the best father and role model he can be for his son, which is most important to Harris. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he says, “As Mr. Five Points.”
QUINCY SHANNON
Founder, Quintessential Remedy
NICOLE A. SINGLETON
President and Chief Executive Officer Colorado Black Chamber of Commerce
Known for being the voice of Black businesses, Nicole A. Singleton is an advocate for business growth, economic development and workplace diversity. Singleton has worked to generate increased awareness for the Colorado
NORMAN HARRIS
President, Juneteenth Music Festival
Norman Harris is best known in the Denver community for being the lead organizer of Denver’s Juneteenth celebration, now known as the Juneteenth Music Festival. “In the last two years, we have successfully rebranded the Juneteenth celebration to Denver and
Quincy Shannon, who is actively present at a diverse array of events, strives to be an advocate who tries to serve as a voice to the voiceless through preaching, poetry, teaching and training. Also known for his community service and volunteer efforts, he is intent on ‘being the change he wishes to see’ and a father to his daughter, Imani. Shannon’s most notable achievements last year were receiving Brother
Denver Urban Spectrum — www.denverurbanspectrum.com – February 2014
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Jeff’s Community Health Institutes Community Rising Leader award, being accepted into Metro Denver Chambers of Commerce’s Leadership Denver Program, and becoming president of the Metro Denver Urban League Young Professionals. “The connections I have made, the students whose lives I have been able to positively impact, and whose souls that my preaching has helped lead them to God has had the greatest impact on my life over the last five years,” Shannon says. “I take an active role because it is the only way to satisfy the fire that is in my bones. I was created to serve in the capacity that I have been blessed with and if I didn’t I would be running from purpose. Taking an active role is the sweet space where my destiny and reality meet,” he says. Shannon feels the biggest challenge facing the African American community is lack of identity. “Where and who is the African American community? If I don’t know who I am, what I represent, nor recognize others within the community then how can we work together to help the community?” He believes the ways to resolve this challenge is to take advantage of more opportunities to come together for positive reasons. To educate the African American community about the proud history we have while recognizing some of the amazing achievements we are still making daily; and supporting each other so failure is not an option. He would like to be remembered as someone who simply tried to do good in spite of his failures and downfalls, who gave his precious gift of time to others in a hope that his investment would cultivate positive change, and as an Omega Man who was the sermon he preached.
RITA R. LEWIS, ESQ.
President, Denver Branch of the NAACP
Rita R. Lewis, Esq is an attorney and president of the Denver branch of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). She says her most notable contribution to the African American community during the past year was, “speaking out after the Department of Justice decided not to charge the three Denver Police officers who brutally beat Alex Landau with civil rights vio-