Review: 25th Anniversary of The Pride Awards

THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PRIDE AWARDS!

(Celebrating African-American Achievements in Charlotte, NC)

This past Friday, January 26, 2018, congregated in the ballroom of the Westin Hotel, in Uptown Charlotte, NC, sat a conglomerate of Charlotte's influential African American"movers and shakers", engaging in conversation and enjoying a scrumptious lunch. A colorful array of diversity (youth and seasoned) illuminated the entire ballroom with their attire, intellect, talents, cultural backgrounds, and generational assignments. The joy of music saturated the atmosphere to set the celebratory tone of the event. What was the great endeavor that brought all these people with so much impact together? Well, I tell you...Pride Magazine's 25th Pride Awards, hosted by anchors Fred Shropshire and Sarah French, of WCNC-TV, NBC Charlotte.

Pride magazine has been a constant source of "pride" and information, celebrating the achievements of Charlotte's African American community for almost three decades. The last sixteen years of this minority-owned media enterprise's success has been spearheaded by a petite, yet powerful, African-American woman named, Dee Dixon. I asked Ms. Dixon what this prestigious event means to her. "It means that the community cares, Charlotte is listening, and our magazine and The Pride Awards have value to all of Charlotte!"

This prestigious event celebrated our amazing Millennials by awarding and recognizing the accomplishments of Victoria Watlington, a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), who has led programs to support African American students enrolled in engineering programs at UNC-Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina State and North Carolina A&T University.

This year's event also paid homage to our generational heritage with a panel discussion entitled, "A Conversation with the Generations". The discussion centered around four generations: Baby Boomers [1946-1964], Generation X [1965-1980], Millennials [1981-1995], and Generation Z [1996-2016], showcasing the value each added to our history and culture.

The four distinguished panelist of each generation were:

The panel discussion was enlightening, engaging and really resonated the diversity of the ideology of each culture and the pride of each to be a part of it. What I gained from each was that each generation is a building block that plays a significant role in defining who we are as a community and nation, as a whole.

After the discussion, I asked Congresswoman Adams and Dr. Graham what impact this opportunity had on their lives.

Congresswoman Adams - "It makes me feel really proud! It takes the word "Pride" with 25 years as an organization that reaches out as it does and recognizes so many people in this community. To be on this panel, with some of these people, you know I raised them - I have a grandson the same age as the youngest person on the panel; I have a daughter Carrie's age and of course Patrick is right behind me...it was just wonderful just to be here to see all the love and sharing. I also listened and that's what it's all about."

Dr. Patrick Graham - "This is definitely a great celebration of Pride magazine, 25 years, because it is part of an African American voice that often goes unnoticed and untouched, so this is a great opportunity to celebrate that. As a Generation X individual, we are the forgotten generation. When the Millennials got their name, we didn't even have one. So people have to realize that we are an important part of this fabric as an actual resolution in this community."

I would like to personally congratulate Pride magazine on their 25 years of service and accomplishments and send best wishes for the next 25 years.