NCNW 2019 Uncommon Height Gala Electronic Press Kit

2019 commitment | unity | self reliance

November 20th

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uncommon height WASHINGTON HILTON 1919 Connecticut Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20009

KENNY LATTIMORE Host

#UncommonHeight2019

DEBORAH COX

Celebrity Entertainment

ABIODUN KOYA Special Guest Performance

Susan L. Taylor

Honoring:

NCNW National Chair Dr. Johnnetta Betsch Cole

Gala Chair Hon. Alexis Herman

Honorary Gala Co-Chairs Ken Frazier Andrea Frazier President/CEO

Merck & Co NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN, INC. • 633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20004 • www.ncnw.org • 202.737.0120

commitment | unity | self reliance

The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) 85 years Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune’s vision and Dr. Dorothy Height’s Legacy

WHO:

WHAT: WHERE: WHEN:

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Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Ph.D., President & National Chair of NCNW Susan L. Taylor, Founder & CEO of the National CARES Mentoring Movement Kenny Lattimore, Singer-Songwriter Deborah Cox, Singer and Theatrical Performer Abiodun Koya, Nigerian Opera Singer The 17th Uncommon Height Gala.

Washington Hilton Hotel 515 15th St NW, Washington, DC 20004 Wednesday, November 20, 2019 6:30 p.m.

The Uncommon Height Gala returns to Washington D.C. this month bringing together many of the country’s leading elected officials, educators, business leaders, entertainers and media personalities to raise funds for the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW).

The 2019 Uncommon Height Gala will be held Wednesday, November 20, 6:30 p.m., at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. to recognize 85 years of NCNW’s mission is to lead, advocate for and empower women of African descent, their families and communities.

In addition, NCNW will present its Uncommon Height Award, “Crystal Stair Award,” to an outstanding individual who has demonstrated a lifetime of service and achievement as exemplified in the spirit and tradition of influential leader, Dr. Dorothy Irene Height. Past honorees of the award have included Congressman John Lewis, Dr. Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones, Tom Joyner, and Cicely Tyson.

The co-chairs 2019 Uncommon Height Gala are The Honorable Alexis M. Herman, former U.S. Secretary of Labor for President William Clinton and current senior advisor to NCNW and Kenneth C.Frazier and Andréa Frazier. Kenneth Frazier is the President and CEO of Merck & Co. Toyota Motor North America, Inc. and The Coca-Cola Company are this year’s corporate sponsors.

Tickets to the Uncommon Height Gala may be purchased individually or as a table of 10 online. All proceeds from the Gala will strengthen NCNW’s capacity to meet critical needs, empower women and ensure the realization of the legacy embodied by the National Centers for African American Women and the Dorothy I. Height Leadership Institute. For information on the National Council for Negro Women, visit www.ncnw.org.

Susan L. Taylor commitment | unity | self reliance

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2019 Crystal Stair Award Recipient

Susan L. Taylor, best-selling author of four books, and editor of eight others, is a fourth-generation entrepreneur, who grew up in Harlem working in her father’s clothing store. At 24, she founded her own cosmetics company, which led to the beauty editor’s position at Essence, the publication she would go on to shape into a world-renown brand with more than six million readers. It was that enterprising spirit wedded to a deep love for her community that led to the founding of the National CARES Mentoring Movement in 2005 as Essence CARES. With local affiliates in 58 cities, National CARES has recruited, trained and deployed more than 150,000 mentors to schools and youth-support and mentoring organizations like Big Brothers, Big Sisters, as well as to its own culturally rooted, academic- and social-transformational initiatives. A community-mobilization movement, National CARES is the only organization dedicated to providing mentoring, healing and wellness services on a national scale for Black children.

Ms. Taylor is a recipient of more than a dozen honorary doctorates and hundreds of awards, including the Phoenix Award, which is the highest honor given by the Congressional Black Caucus. A lifelong activist who has worked to ensure people across the globe, from South Africa to those who struggled in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Susan Taylor says that securing our vulnerable children is her highest calling and the big business of our nation and Black America today.

The Crystal Stair Award is presented to an individual who demonstrates a lifetime devoted to freedom and the pursuit of excellence. The award is a tribute to the late Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, former chair of NCNW, described as ‘the ability to extend far above and beyond oneself to achieve greatness.”

commitment | unity | self reliance

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KENNY LATTIMORE Host

With a career spanning over two decades, highlighted by his 1996 breakthrough single “Never Too Busy” and the wedding staple “For You,” Kenny has garnered Grammy and Soul Train Award nominations, Top 10 singles, Top 20 R&B albums and an NAACP Image Award for Best New Artist, while staying sincere about giving his heart and soul to communities through music.

The Washington DC native dazzles audiences with an unprecedented range influenced by his classical, jazz, and gospel upbringing. Kenny is famous for delivering just the right dose of classic crooning, exceptional runs and authentic emotion. He has placed a distinctive stamp on classic songs recorded by musical icons as Donny Hathaway and The Beatles, transformed Christmas standards, and created musical magic on iconic movie soundtracks like Love Jones, Best Man and Disney’s Lion King II Simba’s Pride.

Kenny Lattimore’s recording legacy includes the critically acclaimed albums, “From The Soul Of Man,” “Timeless” and “Anatomy of a Love Song,” which produced the Top 10 single “Love Me Back.” While “A Kenny Lattimore Christmas” earned a Stellar Award nomination for ‘Event CD of the Year,’ Lattimore’s ninth solo studio album “Vulnerable” produced another Top 10 hit, “Stay on Your Mind,” which climbed the charts to #7 on UAC Billboard and held top radio positions in multiple U.S. markets.

Kenny is a humanitarian who uses his life and platform as a tool to inspire others to pursue excellence and elevate positive conversation about art, culture, family and faith.

commitment | unity | self reliance

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DEBORAH COX Celebrit y Entert ainment

GRAMMY®-nominated recording artist Deborah Cox has an impressive career in entertainment.

She has not only scaled the R&B and pop charts, with six top 20 Billboard magazine R&B singles and an impressive 13 No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Dance Club Play chart, including her international hit single, “Let The World Be Ours Tonight,” she has also carved out her place within the worlds of Broadway, television, film and fashion.

Most recently, Cox starred on Broadway as Rachel Marron in THE BODYGUARD: THE MUSICAL. Previously, film director Angela Bassett cast her to create vocals for Whitney Houston in the Lifetime’s biopic Whitney, for which Cox received rave reviews in media outlets including The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Newsday, The Boston Globe, ESSENCE and numerous others.

Her stage work includes a number of key roles. In 2016, the multi-talented performer starred in the Asolo Repertory Theatre musical production JOSEPHINE. In 2013, she co-starred as Lucy in Frank Wildhorn and Steve Cuden’s Broadway musical JEKYLL & HYDE. In 2004, Cox made her Broadway debut in the lead role of Elton John’s and Tim Rice's Broadway musical, AIDA. The Canadian-born star has been recognized for her longstanding commitment to various social issues in the LGBTQ community. During June 2019 Pride Month, Cox was presented with a Proclamation by the Borough of The Bronx for her recognition of and dedication to the LGBTQ community. She also received the Liberty Bell and Proclamation from Philadelphia Mayor James Kenney, when he proclaimed June 12, 2019, as LGBTQ Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival Day. In April 2019, Cox received the NGLCC- NBIC Icon Award and the Luminary Award from the University of The West Indies. In January 2015, she received the Out Music Pillar Award; that same year, The Harvey Milk Foundation recognized her at the Diversity Honors ceremony for her efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQ community. In 2014, she received the California State Senate Award, and in 2007, she received The Civil Rights Award from the New York Senate for her efforts in the fight for Human Rights and Equality.

commitment | unity | self reliance

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ABIODUN KOYA

Special Guest Performance Abiodun Koya is a Classical/Operatic Singer, Actor, Philanthropist and a Screenwriter. While singing for some of the world’s most influential leaders of today, she has been described as one of the world’s most beautiful voices. Her efforts are to creatively and purposefully display a positive message and influence for diverse cultures across America and the rest of the world.

Through her Foundation, Abiodun Koya Foundation, she builds bridges by mentorship in the Arts for Kids and at-risk youths in parts of Nigeria using a Music Literacy Program Initiative. Part of her philanthropic works in Nigeria includes visiting Female inmates in prison, empowering and encouraging them through music, gifts, motivational speeches and raising funds to help the Female inmates start petty businesses when out of prison.

Today, she has established herself as an all-round Artiste with passion, purpose and mission. She is enlisted in the Navy hereby fulfilling her lifelong passion on the two things she loves most: Military and Music.

commitment | unity | self reliance

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For more information, press only: Tkeban X.T. Jahannes Director of Communications 202.737.0120 ext. 178 tjahannes@ncnw.org

#UncommonHeight2019 For more information: National Council of Negro Women, Inc www.ncnw.org @ NCNW633 @NCNWHQ @ncnw_hq Susan L. Taylor caresmentoring.org @susan.l.taylor.73 @IamSusanTaylor; @CARES_Mentoring @iamsusanltaylor; @caresmentoring Kenny Lattimore kennylattimore.com @officialkennylattimore. @KennyLattimore Deborah Cox www.DeborahCox.com @ DeborahCoxDRG @Deborah_Cox @deborahcox Abiodun Koya abiodunkoya.com @SingAbiodunKoya @singabiodunkoya

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF NEGRO WOMEN, INC. • 633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW • Washington, DC 20004 • www.ncnw.org • 202.737.0120