Society`

EVENTS New York’s UNCF raises over $300K for HBCUs via “A Mind Is...”® Gala

By Audrey J. Bernard Society Editor

On Thursday, March 4, 2021, over 350 guests participated in the New York United Negro College Fund‘s (UNCF) virtual gala to raise critical funds to help students earn college degrees at the organization’s annual “A Mind Is...”® Gala. The online fundraiser was one of many across the United States raising funds to help students realize their dreams of a college education via HBCUs and many other colleges and universities across the United States. The success of the event exceeded all expectations raising over $300,000 to help local students in need get to and through college at some of the nation’s most important resources for students of color—historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

This event is always one of New York’s finest but due to the pandemic, UNCF’s vital fundraising events have had to scale down and move online. However, the virtual production did not lose its luster and was fabulous as ever even raising the bar for others to follow!

Black magnificence prevailed from start to finish! Infinity Song, a group on the rise recently signed by Roc Nation, got the evening started with “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Michelle Miller, co-host of CBS This Morning: Saturday, kept the event moving without missing a beat! Miller’s team at CBS provided a great video featuring HBCU alumni Stacey Abrams. Kudos to the Taylor Company for the fabulous gala video featuring UNCF Scholar Sydney Green. Miller also introduced esteemed presenters Michael R. Bloomberg, Mellody Hobson, and Dr. Michael L. Lomax.

During the program filled with pomp and purpose, honorees were recognized for helping to advance educational opportunities for African Americans and their commitment to UNCF’s mission of uplifting HBCUs and empowering deserving, talented students to earn college degrees. This year’s honorees included: Thasunda Brown Duckett, CEO, Chase Consumer Banking, received the Leadership Award; PepsiCo, was presented with the Corporate Partner Award; and Dennis M. Walcott, president and CEO, Queens Public Library, was recipient of the Shirley Chisholm Award for Community Service. “UNCF is the premier organization that is helping to level the playing field for all,” stated Walcott.

In his greeting to the audience, Dr. Michael L. Lomax, president and CEO, UNCF referred to profound challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. “Honestly, I thought that UNCF and some of our HBCUs would be permanently damaged. But across our country, hundreds of thousands of donors, allies, and New Yorkers like you stepped up to ensure that our HBCUs and our students would have much needed support. Because we share a profound belief, namely, that “A mind is a terrible thing to waste, but a wonderful thing to invest in.”®

The success of an event of this size draws from many supporters and sponsors. Sponsors for the UNCF “A Mind Is…” New York Gala included: Presenting Sponsor, JPMorgan Chase; Gold Sponsors —American Express, Bloomberg Philanthropies, BNY Mellon, Citi, Colgate, Delta Air Lines, PepsiCo, Taylor; Silver Sponsors— Foot Locker Foundation, Sony Corporation of America; Bronze Sponsors— AlixPartners, Penguin Random House, Schroders, Sourcepass, and Walton Family Foundation.

“We thank our sponsors for their support of this important and vital event,” Diego Aviles, vice president, development, UNCF said. “Especially during the pandemic, their critical efforts on our behalf will certainly help enable better futures for our students.” The exquisite evening ended with Grammy award-nominated singer and songwriter, Kenny Lattimore’s beautiful rendition of “Smile.”

To learn more about UNCF’s work in the Northeast, contact Diego Aviles at diego.aviles@uncf.org.

About UNCF

UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding near-

ly 20% of African American baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000 students atover 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark, ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.

Honoree Thasunda Brown Duckett

Corporate Honoree PepsiCo Honoree Dennis Walcott

Presenter Mike Bloomberg

Presenter Mellody Hobson Performer Infinity Song

HARLEM COMMUNITY NEWSPAPERS

Women’s History Month at the Raw Gallery with Liberty & Justice

By Howard Giske

Raw Gallery, is showing the “Liberty & Justice” photo exhibition through Women’s History Month until early April. This is the one-artist show of Erica Génécé, and Raw Gallery is at 2268 Grand Concourse, the Bronx. Entrance to the photographic exhibition is free, and art works and other items are also for sale..

Raw Gallery celebrated its 3rd anniversary, and Women’s History Month, and the exhibit functions as an invitation to social change among Black and Brown communities, and the wider Bronx NY community. The exhibit is in a multi-use space functions that is a gallery, community center, book shop, and apparel shop. A focus is the NYC Statue of Liberty, as well as Black Lives Matter rallies, without making judgments, but trying to see how they affect the community, with a focus of cases such as Breonna Taylor..

Erica Génécé is very excited about this exhibition, and personally knows the models. For example, Quinn is a young man in the photos whose mother was a Black Panther, and whose father comes from the Congo in Africa. She wants the exhibition to serve a therapeutic purpose in relating to the debate about the proper function of police. The recurring background used in many of the photos is the sea-green color of the copper Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Erica even asked the models to show her how they wanted to be presented, with a young woman literally posing as the Statue of Liberty, and holding a green torch-like object.

The Statue of Liberty theme reminds viewers that the questions of liberty and justice in the United States are still open to debate. Viewers and customers were filing into the gallery, a few at a time, wearing masks, and under social distancing conditions. Also, there was an event with a panel of the models who answered further questions on the meaning of the exhibition and “where do we go from here?”

Erica said “I wanted to speak, I wanted to give us a voice, and I do those both through my art. I wanted to interview 6 people of color, coming from different walks of life, some immigrants, others born and raised here, to give a broad spectrum of what BLACK is, to understand that being Black is not just one thing: it’s more than a stereotype.” A recurring figure in the photos is Ms. Génécé’s husband Paul. The idea of the discussion is that “Talking is healing, talking is strength, talking is power.”

Erica Génécé is a Brooklyn based photographer and daughter of Haitian immigrants who loves to celebrate the beauty of her culture. Her work has been featured in Essence Magazine, WWD, and In Style Magazine. Erica earned her master’s degree in Fashion Photography at The School of Visual Arts in NYC.

Raw Gallery has many events over the year, and can be followed on Facebook and other social media. Its tags are #rawgallerynyc #liberty&justice and @rawgallerynyc.

Eric Génécé posing by photos

Group photo