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African Heritage Committee Awards Dinner

Dance teacher gets Bethune honor

New York Teacher
Award presenters present the award winner, who is posing in the middle of the two presenters.
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Some 250 guests gathered at Antun’s Queens Village on Feb. 7 for the UFT’s annual African Heritage Committee Awards Dinner, where Marcella Jones received the Mary McLeod Bethune Award for Excellence in Teaching. “It was very humbling and an honor,” said Jones, to receive an award named for Bethune, who was “vocal as an educator and for Africans and their rights.” A dance teacher at Performing Arts and Technology HS in Brooklyn, Jones brought 12 students to perform. The other honorees were UFT Staff Director Anthony Harmon, who received the Trailblazer Award, and City Councilman Donovan Richards, who received the Frederick Douglass Award for Civil and Human Rights. Students from Brooklyn’s Automotive HS and Manhattan’s LaGuardia HS received UFT scholarships. Committee Chair Wendy Walker-Wilson, a teacher assigned, says this year’s theme, “Stand up and be counted,” was inspired by the Census and the upcoming elections. “Be in the count — don’t stay on the sidelines,” said Walker-Wilson. “Every vote matters.”

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Group with Mulgrew

Committee members and district representatives join UFT President Michael Mulgrew (fourth from right) and Councilman Donovan Richards (second from right), who flank Staff Director Anthony Harmon, after celebrating African heritage at the UFT’s African Heritage Committee Awards Dinner on Feb. 7 at Antun’s in Queens Village.

Miller Photography
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Two people posing for a photo

Paraprofessionals Chapter Leader Shelvy Young-Abrams poses for a photo with Staff Director Anthony Harmon, who received the Trailblazer Award at the event.

Miller Photography
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Man speaking at the podium

Dial-A-Teacher Coordinator Sean Blanks sings the Black National Anthem.

Miller Photography
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Crowd giving applause

Guests enjoy the festivities.

Miller Photography
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Three women smile, one has an award.

Marcella Jones (center), the winner of the Mary McLeod Bethune Award, is congratulated by UFT District 28 Representative Angela Artis (left) and Special Representative Martha Lane.

Miller Photography
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Dancers

Student dancers from Performing Arts and Technology HS (PATHS) on the Thomas Jefferson HS Campus in Brooklyn entertain the guests while their teacher Marcella Jones is honored.

Miller Photography
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Student waves at the podium

Kareem Hubbard, a student at Automotive HS in Brooklyn, receives the Armando Blasse Award.

Miller Photography
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Student at podium

The Helen Doughty Award is presented to Glenjanee Robertson, a student at LaGuardia HS in Manhattan.

Miller Photography
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Women at the podium smiling

Committee Chair and event organizer Wendy Walker-Wilson addresses the guests.

Miller Photography
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Image
Group with Mulgrew

Committee members and district representatives join UFT President Michael Mulgrew (fourth from right) and Councilman Donovan Richards (second from right), who flank Staff Director Anthony Harmon, after celebrating African heritage at the UFT’s African Heritage Committee Awards Dinner on Feb. 7 at Antun’s in Queens Village.

Miller Photography
Image
Two people posing for a photo

Paraprofessionals Chapter Leader Shelvy Young-Abrams poses for a photo with Staff Director Anthony Harmon, who received the Trailblazer Award at the event.

Miller Photography
Image
Man speaking at the podium

Dial-A-Teacher Coordinator Sean Blanks sings the Black National Anthem.

Miller Photography
Image
Crowd giving applause

Guests enjoy the festivities.

Miller Photography
Image
Three women smile, one has an award.

Marcella Jones (center), the winner of the Mary McLeod Bethune Award, is congratulated by UFT District 28 Representative Angela Artis (left) and Special Representative Martha Lane.

Miller Photography
Image
Dancers

Student dancers from Performing Arts and Technology HS (PATHS) on the Thomas Jefferson HS Campus in Brooklyn entertain the guests while their teacher Marcella Jones is honored.

Miller Photography
Image
Student waves at the podium

Kareem Hubbard, a student at Automotive HS in Brooklyn, receives the Armando Blasse Award.

Miller Photography
Image
Student at podium

The Helen Doughty Award is presented to Glenjanee Robertson, a student at LaGuardia HS in Manhattan.

Miller Photography
Image
Women at the podium smiling

Committee Chair and event organizer Wendy Walker-Wilson addresses the guests.

Miller Photography