100 Black Men Honors Distinguished group

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100 Black Men of Los Angeles, Inc. – Malcolm Ali for Sentinel

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Attorney Donald A. Lancaster and Chief Judge Audrey Collins – Malcolm Ali for Sentinel

They were chosen for their unselfish devotion and honoring contributions to Humanity, Diversity and Visionary Leadership: Taking Our Mission to Higher levels.

By Brandon Brooks
Sentinel Entertainment Editor

The Mission Statement of the 100 Black Men of Los Angeles, Inc. reads as follows: it is a non-profit civic and community-based organization that serves as a catalyst for the disadvantaged and underrepresented segments of the community. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Blacks and other minorities through the enhancement of educational and economic opportunities within the community.

The organization held its 2009 gala dinner and silent auction, and honored a group of distinguished men and women: public officials and private individuals for the work that they have done and continue to do to further the quality of life for those who are less fortunate. In addition, they gave out four scholarships.

The honorees were: Irving A. Miller–the Community Partner award; the Honorable Audrey Collins, Chief Judge, United States District Court–the Special Achievement award; Greg Jones–the Lifetime Achievement award; Commissioner John Mack–the Lifetime Achievement award; Elgin Baylor–the Lifetime Achievement award; the Honorable Kamala Harris, District Attorney of San Francisco–the Woman of the Year award; and the Honorable Mark Ridley-Thomas, L.A. County Supervisor.

The scholarships went to: Veonna Washington, currently a sophomore at UCLA, majoring in Psychology; Aston Roberts, a junior at Azusa Pacific University, majoring in Sports Medicine; Benjamin Thomas, a freshman medical student at UC San Francisco; and Jhamasa Lewis, a sophomore at Jackson State University.

The 100 Black of Los Angeles sponsors a program called the Young Black Scholars (YBS). It is focused primarily on the youth in the greater Los Angeles area and is supported by over 30 community co-sponsoring organizations. It has an alumni association of over 18,000 members and 98 percent of its graduates attend four-year colleges and universities.

Along with the honorees, there were many distinguished guests in attendance including

Attorney Carl Douglas, Mr. & Mrs. Bremond Weaver, Norm Nixon, Marguerite LaMotte, Kerman Maddox and many of the organization’s past presidents and lifetime members.

Chris Schauble, KNBC4 News reporter was the master of ceremonies and Attorney Donald A. Lancaster, the organization’s current president and chairman the board participated in the gala affair. Lancaster is the eleventh president and as president and chairman of the board of the 27-year old organization, his role will be to continue to guide the organization in mentoring youth and providing the leadership for them to become productive and successful future leaders.