NEW ORLEANS — The National Urban League on Saturday honored and recognized the achievements of four black women who have made a significant impact on their communities.
The Women in Harmony Awards Luncheon took place against the backdrop of the 30th anniversary of the Essence Festival of Culture and paid tribute to Faith Jenkins, an attorney, legal commentator and media personality who hosted the television program “Divorce Court”; Tracy Edmonds, a television producer and president and CEO of Edmonds Entertainment Group; Bevy Smith, a radio and television personality, author and actress; and Lisa Price, the founder and creator of the hair product empire Carol’s Daughter.
“The National Urban League felt it was important to create an opportunity to showcase the accomplishments of black women in politics, business and fashion, and created this vision called ‘Women in Harmony.’ It describes the fact that we also have diversity within the black women’s community in terms of ages, different parts of the community, professions and so on,” said Marc H. Morial, president of the National Urban League.
Rhonda Spears Bell, NUL’s Chief Marketing Officer, said the recognition helps “create an experience for black women around the world.”
“The idea behind the title is that we come together in unity in our power and in our purpose. When we are together, we fly higher and we go further in this journey of equality and justice. Women are truly the foundation of everything we do. We are excited to have created such a momentous occasion to honor and celebrate women. And Essence is the perfect backdrop to do this because it is the mecca for black women,” Bell said.
During his opening statement, Morial emphasized the upcoming presidential election, but encouraged people to remember that it’s not the only thing on the ballot this fall.
“We have to educate ourselves to be able to cast a full ballot,” he said, adding that a third of the seats in the U.S. Senate are up for grabs.