At the classy Create The Lab venue, Hazel Carmack Harris invited nearly 200 people to a masquerade party for her 80th birthday. However, instead of celebrating her eighth decade, the retired educator and community advocate saluted four people she described as “making the city of Los Angeles a better place to live.”
Danny J. Bakewell, Sr. and several Black citizens hosted a gathering for L.A. mayoral candidate Karen Bass and 150+ leaders of the city’s African American community. Audience members unanimously vowed to support the Bass campaign.
The theme was “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced.” Elected officials, business executives and community leaders were among the people joining BBA President Earl “Skip” Cooper II in recognizing Moore and other females who have contributed to securing women’s rights in America. Gwendolyn A. Goodman, public relations director of the Black Women’s Network, was the emcee for the occasion.
Everyone agrees that John W. Mack made a lasting impact on the city, especially in South Los Angeles. His role in advancing civil rights, social justice and economic equity for African Americans is documented in print publications, Internet entries, TV news archives and several YouTube videos.
Watson Bradfield, a trailblazer in her own right, was born July 22, 1938 into a family of trailblazers. She was the youngest of four children. Her father, William Watson, was one of the first African American police officers in Los Angeles. Her grandfather, Spencer Watson, was a civil rights activist, involved in organizing the pullman porters along with Bayard Rustin. And, her grandmother Belle O’Neal was the surgical nurse who worked on the first open heart surgery with Dr. Clarence Williams in Chicago.