• African American, Carribian and Latino Section
• Drum Beat
• Heather's Section
• Anything Goes
• Humanitarian Corner
• Dynamic Duo
• Gloria's Section
• Betty's Section
• Cultural Section
• Buisness and Politics Section

40 th Annual Frederick Douglas

May 18, 2005

Sheraton Hotel & Towers, NY

For over 80 years, the New York Urban League has been helping disadvantaged New Yorkers gain access to equal opportunity in employment, education, health care, housing and the civic arena by providing programs and activities in the areas of employment and training, economic development, education, housing, health, social services, information referrals and inter-group relations, and by engaging in research, polling and policy analysis, in order to formulate advocacy positions on issues that affect the lives of New Yorkers, especially African Americans and disadvantaged people.

Their 40 th Annual Frederick Douglass Awards Gala was a very special event. It began with a one-hour cocktail reception where we were able to meet lots of businesspeople, many of them proponents of the equality and fairness which the New York Urban League has been advocating since the year 1919.

After the cocktail reception, everyone was escorted to the Metropolitan West Ballroom, where we received a warm welcome from the co-hosts for the evening, Ms. Shon Gables, Anchor for the CBS Morning News, and Peter Thorne, Anchor/Reporter for WB11 News at 10. Ms. Gables got straight to the point, telling everyone why we were there, which is not only to support the cause of the New York Urban League, but to support the honorees, which have devoted enormous amounts of time and energy toward equal right within their communities. Shon Gables then welcomed the Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr. Jean Marie Horivitz.

We were given a warm welcome also by Darwin M. Davis, the President and CEO of the New York Urban League, and listened to a wonderful presentation of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” By the beautiful voice of Kevin Anthony, who sang three stanzas, which was followed by the invocation. We then watched a very encouraging video shown on the history of the National Urban League, which showed the basis for its founding, how the New York Urban League shifted gears during the depression in the 1930’s, the different leaders that have resided at its helm, and the over-all progress the New York Urban League has made over the years, since its inception.

Also at the event was a live auction, that was run by auctioneer Audrey Smaltz, where people had the opportunity bid on some nice prizes, such as a “Bronx Bombers Bash,” which included a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Yankees play at the Stadium with four field box tickets for the game of one’s choice, and receive a rousing scoreboard welcome, along with a behind-the-scenes tour of the “House that Ruth Built,” and the opportunity to take home an authentic, autographed Derek Jeter jersey, signed by “The Captain” himself. Other prizes included a Broadway Family Pack, 10 tickets in total, 4 to the Broadway smash hit Steel Magnolias, four more tickets to the Off-Broadway musical “Alter Boyz,” and two tickets to “Fiddler on the Roof,” starring Harvey Hierstein.

Herman Edwards, the first of the honorees is the Head Coach of the New York Jets. Besides having an endless passion for the game of foot ball, he is a true advocate for good ethics, fair play and sportsmanship. In the year 2002, he served as a national spokesperson for National Sportsmanship Day, which is an event promoted through the Institute for International Sports, who’s purpose it is to serve as a forum for students, teachers, coaches, parents and fans to discuss such issues ethics, sportsmanship and fair play. Mr. Edwards was unable to attend the event, hence, his medal was received by a representative of the New York Jets on his behalf.

Tonya Lewis Lee, the second honoree, then received her award. Ms. Lee is an attorney, and received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in 1988, and her J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1991. Ms. Lee later turned to writing and producing for television, where, from 1998 to 2002, she produced Black History Month interstitials for Nickelodian and Nick at Night, which featured various actors, including Gregory Hines, Savion Glover, Whoopi Goldberg, and Queen Latifah. In 2002, she co-authored the children’s book “Please Baby Please”, with her husband, Spike Lee, and illustrated Kadir Nelson. An advocate of equality, Ms. Lee is highly outspoken on issues of the women and race, and has written for Glamour magazine, as well as has appeared on Lifetime (Television for Women). She is actively serving on the boards of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and the Children for Children Foundation.

John Esposito was the third honoree. He is the President and CEO of MOET Hennessy, USA., the leading luxury wine and spirits importer in the United States. Prior to his position at Moet he has held numerous executive positions in management and sales around the country. Today, John continues to be actively involved in charity fundraising ans has been honored as “Man of the Year” by the Boy Scouts of American and the United Jewish Appeal. Is also the recipient of the industry’s American Cancer Society’s Dr. Louis Berger Memorial Award, and in 2002, he received a Doctor of Laws Degree from Medgar Evers College for his work in supporting education. He is currently the Corporate Chair and board member of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Foundation.

The final honoree for the night was Mr. David Slackman, the Founding President for Commerce Bank’s New York Market. Mr. Slackman has been a banker in New York for 35 years, and is Commerce Bank’s first employee in New York. His banking career in 1970 at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and since he has held respected positions at numerous financial institutions, including Brinks, Inc., Dime Savings Bank of New York, Atlantic Bank of New York and ASTA Funding Corporation, where he currently serves as a board member. Mr. Slackman serves on several prominent boards for a variety of non-profit organization—The Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce, the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and Queens College Business and Law Arts program, the college where he, himself, graduated from. He has done everything from serving in the XVIII Airborne Corps Artillery at Ft. Bragg, NC to earning a Master of Arts from the New School of Social Research.

We would like to thank Ms. Trisha Andrews, the publicist for the New York Urban League, for her kind invitation to come and cover this event. Anyone who would like more information about the New York Urban League may visit their website at http://www.nyul.org.

Lidia Vita and Betty Coker are known as "The Dynamic Duo". The reason or this is they both work well hand-in-hand. They will cover trade shows, e.g. World Famous ENK shows, Fame shows, computer technology expos, gift shows and other trade shows and expos to educate you folks on how you can attend them, and give you exclusive, in-depth interviews with the vendors and the people behind these trade shows and the new products on the market. They will also educate you about different cultures and festivities. If you are interested in having the dynamic duo write about your festival or trade show, or have any comments or suggestions for them, please feel free to email them at dynamicduo@hadofnyc.org, or telephone them at our hotline, at (718) 507-7616 between the hours 8:00am and 8:00pm Monday through Friday.