Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Memorial Dinner

Feb 16, 2005

Great Hall, CUNY, NYC

If there ever was an activist who stood for equality, Adam Clayton Powell was he. This gala honored a legend in his time. It started with an invocation by Cannon Frederick Williams, Senior Pastor of the Church of Intercession, and was followed by the National Anthems.Master and Mistresses of Ceremonies were David Ushery, of NBC Nightly News, who introduced the different guest speakers. The speakers included Percy Sutton, who spoke very boldly about the late Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., who’s background included everything from being the first African American to be elected to a Council seat to pasturing a church. Mr. Powell challenged any legislation that he felt was, in any way, unjust, never being concerned with what the opposition might say. He was highly spoken of by the different speakers for the evening, which included the Rev. Nicholas Tweed (Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church) who spoke about Mr. Powell as “The Man We Honor” and State Secretary Randy Daniels who delivered the keynote address, also speaking very highly about Mr. Powell and the challenges he made to the opposition, right up to Capital Hill. Mr. Powell, from what the speakers said, defied racial injustice—he talked the talk and walked the walk. You should have been at this wonderful event.Will Brown, Jr., the President of the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Memorial spoke to the audience and gave recognition to all of the committee members.,Celebrities galore were on hand, including the famous boxing promoter Don King (who won the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr “Keep the Faith” Sports Award), whom we had the pleasure of doing an exclusive interview with (upcoming article), and Zab Judah, undisputed Welterweight Boxing Champion. There were also many politicians on hand, including Randy Daniels, Percy E. Sutton (Former Manhattan Borough President), the Honorable Mayor of Harlem, Leslie Wyche, and many more, all who were gathered to show their support for this wonderful memorial event. Of course, many members of the Powell family were also on hand, including Adam Clayton Powell, IV, the son of the late Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. and Congressman Chrles Rangel.. There were businesspeople as well, including Sylvia Woods, the owner of the famous Harlem-based Sylvia’s restaurant. Ms. Woods won the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. “Keep the Faith” Business Award. Other honorees included Rev. Dr. Eugene Callendar, who won the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. “Keep the Faith” Religion Award. The humanitarian award was awarded to Mr. Ed Lewis, for his tremendous work for the cause of humanity.Ms. Deborah Rodrigquez-Cooke and concluded the event.The following morning was the unveiling of the great Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Memorial Status at the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Building on 125 th Street in Harlem. Dignitaries on hand for the unveiling of the Statue in front of the Adam Clayton Powell State building were Percy Sutton, legendary businessman, Governor George Pataki, who’s office donated $250,000 toward the statue, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields, Congressman Charles Rangel, Robert Montague, Manhattan District Attorney, Assemblyman Keith Wright, Adriano Espaillet, Rev. Al. Sharpton, and many, many more people from the Harlem neighborhood, all who came to support this great cause.

This was a phenomenal celebration. Everyone enjoyed it. The dinner served was also delicious. We would like to thank Mr. Wendell Niles, one of the Board of Directors Members of the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Memorial Committee for his kind invitation for us to cover this truly historical event.

The African American and Caribbean Section is headed by assistant editor Annette Johnson, and Liberty News Online Staff Writers contributing articles. It will cover articles about the African American and Caribbean communities throughout the U.S.A. For more information, feel free to email us at lncarib@hadofnyc.org. If you are interested in having us cover one of your events, feel free to notify us one week in advance, so we can add you to our master calendar, and have our Liberty News Staff come and write an article about your event. Feel free to email us at lnevents@hadofnyc.org, or telephone us at (718) 507-7616 between the hours of 8:00am and 8:00pm, and ask to speak to Annette or Steve