THE FIGHT FOR EQUITY CONTINUES
Get In League With Us!
61ST ANNUAL GOLDEN FELLOWSHIP DINNER Saturday, November 5, 2022 Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk #CULGFD61
Greetings, As Governor of the State of Illinois, I am pleased to welcome everyone gathered for the 61st Golden Fellowship Dinner hosted by the Chicago Urban League. This occasion offers an exciting opportunity for everyone in attendance to celebrate your organization for its outstanding work in our community. I want to personally extend my congratulations to your honorees Dr. Walter Massey, Dr. Helene Gayle, and Professor Nikole Hannah Jones. Their extraordinary achievements help make Illinois a more inclusive and enjoyable place. For over 106 years, the Chicago Urban League has advocated for Black families in Chicago and surrounding communities. I commend your organization's commitment to workforce development, housing and financial empowerment, youth services, and entrepreneurship. The work this organization does leaves a lasting impact on our communities. Illinois is proud to have enjoyed your service to our state. I am grateful for all the ways your organization has supported a strong future for Illinois. Once again, let me offer my congratulations to President and CEO Karen Freeman-Wilson, Board Chair Dr. Suzet McKinney, and the entire board and staff of the Chicago Urban League. I have no doubt your organization will continue to excel for years to come. Congratulations again on your remarkable achievements. On behalf of the people of Illinois, I offer my best wishes for an enjoyable and memorable occasion. Sincerely, Governor JB Pritzker
Dear Friends: On behalf of the City of Chicago, I am honored to welcome all those gathered for the Chicago Urban League's 61st Annual Golden Fellowship Dinner. Since its founding in 1916, the Chicago Urban League has advocated for educational quality, economic development, and social justice in the African American community by helping people find jobs, secure affordable housing, grow their businesses, and reach their educational goals. As a diverse group of community, civic, business, and faith leaders, the Chicago Urban League exemplifies our city's truest values. This year's event presents the opportunity to come together to celebrate the accomplishments of the past while also challenging us to join in the efforts of achieving equity for African Americans throughout the city. Proceeds from tonight's event will go towards many of the organizations programs and help the Chicago Urban League continue their mission. I commend the Chicago Urban League for their ongoing commitment to our city and to our future. I hope your event is memorable and enjoyable. Best wishes for continued success.
61ST ANNUAL GOLDEN FELLOWSHIP DINNER
THE FIGHT FOR EQUITY CONTINUES HOST Damon Williams INVOCATION Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III, Trinity United Church of Christ WELCOME FROM DINNER CO-CHAIRS Reginald Miller, McDonald's Corp. Robert Dunn & James Reynolds, Jr., EquityWorks PRESENTATION OF LESTER H. MCKEEVER JR. INDIVIDUAL SERVICE AWARD Honoree: Helene D. Gayle, MD PRESENTATION OF HUMANITARIAN AWARD Honoree: Walter E. Massey, PhD ** DINNER IS SERVED ** PRESIDENT & CEO REMARKS Karen Freeman-Wilson PRESENATION OF EDWIN C. "BILL" BERRY CIVIL RIGHTS AWARD Honoree: Nikole Hannah-Jones LIVE CHALLENGE Suzet McKinney BENEDICTION Rev. James Meeks, Salem Baptist Church MUSICAL PERFORMANCE Charlie Wilson AFTER PARTY Immediately Following Performance in Riverwalk A/B Saturday, November 5, 2022 Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk
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ADVOCACY SPONSORS ABC 7 Chicago Advocate Healthcare Associated Bank Bally's Bank of America Barnes & Thornburg Bloomin' Brands BMOA BP CBS Chicago Community Builders Collective Chicago Cubs CIBC Cinergi Group Connie Lindsey CS Strategy
Democrats for the Illinois House Goodwill H&K Perforating Co. Haywood and Fleming Associates Illinois Network of Charter Schools Instacart INTREN JB for Governor Kids First Chicago Lester McKeever, Jr. McCormick Foundation Mitchell & Titus LLP Molson Coors Navistar Power and Sons Construction PwC
Rush SEIU IL State Council Spark Foundry Sterling Bay Taylor Partners Chicago Community Trust The Kemper Foundation The Kindness Campaign Thresholds Truth Foods LLC U.S. Bank United LLC Verizon Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP Wintrust Wyn-Win Communications, Inc.
VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE SPONSORS AARP Gift of Hope Huntington Bank Hyatt Loyola Institute for Racial Justice
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2022 HONOREES EDWIN C. "BILL" BERRY CIVIL RIGHTS AWARD NIKOLE HANNAH-JONES
Nikole Hannah-Jones is an award-winning investigative reporter who covers civil rights and racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine. Nikole got hooked on journalism when she joined her high school newspaper and began writing about students like her, who were bused across town as part of a voluntary school desegregation program. In 2017 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and in 2020 she won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her work on the 1619 Project. Hannah-Jones is the inaugural Knight Chair in Race and Journalism at the Howard University School of Communications, where she also founded the Center for Journalism and Democracy. Her heroes are the race beat reporters, such as Ida B. Wells, Ethel Payne, Simeon Booker and Claude Sitton, whose fearless coverage helped move this nation closer to its promise. Prior to joining The New York Times, Nikole worked as an investigative reporter at ProPublica in New York City, where she spent three years chronicling the way official policy created and maintains segregation in housing and schools. Before that, she reported for the largest daily newspaper in the Pacific Northwest, The Oregonian in Portland, Ore., where she covered numerous beats, including demographics, the census and county government. Nikole started her journalism career covering the majority-black Durham Public Schools for The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. During her three years there, she wrote extensively on issues of race, class, school resegregation and equity. Nikole is a native Iowan, a child produced by the hopes of both the Great Migration and those who migrated from foreign shores. She has also lived in Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina and Oregon. Now she is Bed-Stuy fly in Brooklyn.
2022 HONOREES LESTER H. MCKEEVER, JR., INDIVIDUAL SERVICE AWARD HELENE D. GAYLE, MD,MPH
Dr. Helene Gayle is president of Spelman College, one of the nation’s oldest Historically Black Colleges. Formerly, she served as president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust. She has served in this role since October 2017. Under her leadership, the Trust has adopted a new strategic focus on closing the racial and ethnic wealth gap in the Chicago region. For almost a decade, Dr. Gayle was president and CEO of CARE, a leading international humanitarian organization. An expert on global development, humanitarian, and health issues, she spent 20 years with the Centers for Disease Control, working primarily on HIV/AIDS. She worked at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, directing programs on HIV/AIDS and other global health issues. Dr. Gayle serves on public company and nonprofit boards, including The Coca-Cola Company, Organon, Palo Alto Networks, Brookings Institution, Center for Strategic and International Studies, New America, ONE Campaign, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and Economic Club of Chicago. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Council on Foreign Relations, Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, National Academy of Medicine, American Public Health Association, National Medical Association, and American Academy of Pediatrics. She was awarded the Chicago Mayor’s Medal of Honor for her work on COVID relief and recovery for the city. Named one of Forbes’ “100 Most Powerful Women” and one of NonProfit Times “Power and Influence Top 50,” she has authored numerous articles on global and domestic public health issues, poverty alleviation, gender equality, and social justice. Dr. Gayle was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. She earned a BA in psychology at Barnard College, an MD at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPH at Johns Hopkins University. She has received 18 honorary degrees and holds faculty appointments at the University of Washington and Emory University.
2022 HONOREES HUMANITARIAN AWARD WALTER E. MASSEY, PhD
Walter Eugene Massey is an American educator, physicist, and executive. President emeritus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and of Morehouse College, he is chairman of the board overseeing construction of the Giant Magellan Telescope, and serves as trustee chair of the City Colleges of Chicago. During his career, Massey has served as head of the National Science Foundation, director of Argonne National Laboratory, and chairman of Bank of America. He has also served in professorial and administrative posts at the University of California, University of Chicago, Brown University, and the University of Illinois. Massey is the only individual to serve as both President and Chairman of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and as Chair of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design (AICAD). Additionally, Massey is the only individual to have received both the Enrico Fermi Award for Science and Technology from the Chicago Historical Society and the Public Humanities Award from Illinois Humanities. Born on April 5, 1938, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Massey displayed a gift for mathematics as a child, and by the middle of high school his academic achievements had earned him a Ford Foundation fellowship to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. There, he began studying theoretical physics, which he chose in part because it gave him the chance to rise above the discrimination he had witnessed as a youth in the segregated South of the 1940s and 1950s. Massey graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1958.
PERFORMERS WINDY INDIE Windy Indie is a classically trained violinist from the West Side of Chicago whose versatility on the violin is rooted in her humble beginnings. Since picking the violin as her principal instrument in her 6th-grade music class, she has become passionate about music and encouraging others to believe in themselves.
JAY ILLA Jay has had the opportunity to DJ for iconic figures and big time celebrities. He's done events for Kanye West, Jay Z, 50 Cent, Lebron James, Derrick Rose, Spike Lee, & Common. He's shared the stage with Chaka Khan, Memphis Bleek, Freeway, Slum Village, The Pharcyde, The Lox, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Kid Capri, DJ Clark Kent, DJ Clue, DJ Scratch, and Jermaine Dupri. He's had the opportunity to DJ for Spotify on several occasions, and is currently the Chicago Bears Field DJ.
3 SNAPZ Dreana Johnson, (DJ, Inspirationalist and Author) is a brand of inspiration. Receiving her calling at a young age, Johnson always knew her purpose was to put positive energy into the world when she discovered the power of faith, determination, and commitment of overcoming obstacles and accomplishing goals. Johnson knew that those characteristics would take her far in her journey of changing the world, one person at a time.
FEATURED PERFORMER
CHARLIE WILSON
Very few artists can lay claim to Charlie Wilson’s hitmaker status. Twice named Billboard’s Top Adult Male R&B Artist, Wilson kick-started the new decade with not one but two No. 1 Adult R&B Songs hits: “Forever Valentine” and “One I Got.” Then he wrapped the year by also breaking that chart’s record as the Top Adult Male Artist with the most No. 1’s in three decades. In 2021 Wilson also won the Certified Soul Award at the Soul Train Awards. Since scoring his first top 10 R&B hit in 1979 as co-founder/lead singer for R&B/funk pioneers the Gap Band, Wilson continues to defy the odds. For in a career that stretches more than four decades — and multiple generations of fans — Wilson has not only become a force on the charts but also onstage. And he has simultaneously become the go-to collaborator for many fellow stars. What ties it all together, says the 13-time Grammy Award nominee, is being able to tap back into the passion that bubbled to the surface when he began performing in church at four years old. “It was fun and felt good,” Wilson recalls with a laugh. “That’s when singing first became something I didn’t want to ever let go.” Sidelined from touring by the pandemic, Wilson has spent the last 18 months re-energizing by writing and recording songs “celebrating women” for the follow-up to his seventh solo album, 2017’s In It to Win It. Hinting that fans will be surprised at the who’s who of guests he has on deck, Wilson is returning full circle to the independent roots that fostered his solo career. It was in 2000 that he and longtime manager Michael Paran released the singersongwriter’s breakthrough solo album Bridging the Gap. Wilson earned his first No. 1 R&B hit that same year with the set’s lead single, “Without You.”
Get In League With Us! WAYS TO DONATE As one of the oldest and largest affiliates of the National Urban League, the Chicago Urban League helps people find jobs, secure affordable housing, enhance their educational experiences, and grow their businesses. Proceeds from our annual Golden Fellowship Dinner help fund operations for the organization, which serves more than 15,000 Chicagoans each year.
Use QR Code Text "GFD2022" to 843-606-5995 By check. Make checks payable to Chicago Urban League and place in donation envelope on the table. Scan QR code with your phone to donate now.
DINNER MENU Baby Bibb-Frisee Salad Baby Bibb frisee blend, roasted baby pear, goat cheese, vanilla bean vinaigrette (GF)
Braised Short Ribs and Salmon Live Paddle Raise Hoisin-glazed braised short ribs, spicy chili garlic sauce paired with roasted salmon, honey-suckle glaze, braised escarole & napa cabbage ragout, potato pav, haricot vert & patty pans
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Dessert
Duo of Gianduja chocolate mousse and white chocolate terrine with lemon napoleon and sour cherry gellee.
Check/Donation Envelope
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