Welcome to The Uncommon Height 2023 Gala! This is the National Council of Negro Women’s (NCNW) 18th biennial gala and leading up to the big day, NCNW has been busy engaging and educating our staff, member societies, partners, and other stakeholders on key issues relevant to the African American community. Many events, like the Affiliate’s Assembly, The Black Agenda and NCNW’s Call to Action, discussed our vibrant vision of the future, while others focused on building stronger partnerships, building confidence in our stakeholders, getting to know our vendors, and uplifting our membership. We also spoke to the individual by tackling self-care and mental health and dove even deeper into social justice issues—centering Black voices and creating safe spaces all throughout. Now that you know so much more about our ambitious plans and lofty goals, we hope that you join us tonight ready to embrace our mission. Uncommon Height is our organization’s signature fundraising event, and we hope to raise $1M to bolster our programs. Your support will make a difference and touch lives, not only here in the United States, but also abroad. Proceeds from tonight’s celebration will fund our efforts to promote and secure education, economic prosperity, and social justice for vulnerable groups around the world. Uncommon Height will honor Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie; President & General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, with the recipient of our Crystal Stair Award and will be hosted by Emmy award-winning ABC7 News Anchor Adrianna Hopkins and Global Spins awardee MC DJ QuickSilva. The evening will feature performances from Grammy Award winning LEDISI and billboard-charting vocalist and viola maestro Chelsey Green.
CRYSTAL STAIR AWARDEE BISHOP VASHTI MURPHY MCKENZIE PRESIDENT/GENERAL SECRETARY NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is the new President/General Secretary of the National Council of Churches (NCC). She provides executive leadership to 37 communions (denominations) representing 100,000 churches and 30 million people. She is the first African American woman to hold both positions. Bishop McKenzie is also the 117th elected and consecrated bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the first female elected to episcopal office in the more than the two-century-old AME Church. She is the first female to serve as President of the Council of Bishops and President of the General Board. Bishop McKenzie has served as a Presiding Prelate in the 18th Episcopal District, in Southern Africa, the 13th Episcopal District which includes Kentucky and Tennessee and the 10th Episcopal District, the state of Texas. While serving in Texas, she also served as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Paul Quinn College, Dallas, Texas which experienced exponential growth including the renovation of the Richard Allen Chapel and the new Trammell Crow Life, Living and Learning dormitory complex that includes a new-state-of-the-art gymnasium. She also established two non-profits which raised funds outside of tithes and offerings for church and community projects in two of her districts. Bishop McKenzie serves the National Council of Churches after recently retiring from active service in the AME Church at the 51st Quadrennial session of the General Conference in 2021. She is also serving at Payne Theological Seminary, Wilberforce, Ohio, working on documentaries. She has been the visionary behind five documentaries, four of them in The Anvil series, of the Council of Bishops serving as producer, executive producer, and senior editor. The newest documentary, AME Next, was released in early 2022. Characterized as “an electrifying preacher”, Bishop McKenzie continues to preach and teach globally as well as serve as a workshop/seminar instructor for congregations, corporations, and a variety of organizations on the topics of advocacy, women, and leadership. Bishop McKenzie has been active in social justice issues for more than three decades. She was appointed in 2009 by President Barack Obama to be on the inaugural White House Commission of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnership. This group worked on behalf of Americans committed to improving their communities, no matter their religious or political beliefs. She was named by Huffington Post in 2014 as one of the 50 Most Powerful Women Religious Leaders in the World. Bishop McKenzie is the author of six books including Not Without a Struggle and Journey to the Well. Her newest book is The Big Deal of Taking Small Steps to Move Closer to God. The book shows how to develop a stronger relationship with God with a more effective Christian lifestyle by taking small steps that lead to big changes. Bishop McKenzie is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, Howard University, School of Religion and has an earned doctorate from United Theological Seminary. She is the widow of former NBA player, Dr. Stan McKenzie, the mother of three adult children and “Nina” to three grandchildren. The Crystal Stair Award is presented to an individual who demonstrates a lifetime devoted to freedom and the pursuit of excellence. The award is a tribute to the late Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, former chair of NCNW, described as “the ability to extend far above and beyond oneself in order to achieve greatness.”
HOST ADRIANNA HOPKINS NEWS ANCHOR ABC7
Adrianna Hopkins a morning show anchor based in Washington, D.C.; and adjunct professor for Florida International University in D.C., leading the Caplin News DC Bureau. Her broadcast career has taken her to New Orleans, LA, Miami, FL, Louisville, KY & Macon, GA. She earned a BA in Electronic Communications & African American Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Adrianna is a passionate advocate for women’s health issues, connecting with organizations that share a desire to find solutions to disparities in health outcomes for Black & BIPOC people. Equity is a persistent theme in her reporting as she explores topics ranging from environmental justice to the epidemic of gun violence to Black maternal mortality outcomes. She firmly believes in connecting people to experiences outside of their own. She and her husband have two beautiful & smart children.
EMCEE DJ QUICKSILVA
RADIO PERSONALITY WERQ + WKYS QuickSilva, husband to Ashley Silva and father of Antonio and Ashton, is renowned worldwide as The Party Kingpin. He has won multiple awards for his skills as a DJ, including two Global Spin Awards, the East Coast #1 at the MixShow Power Summit, and being ranked #1 in DC for the past two decades. Additionally, he has been recognized by the Source Magazine for the last ten years in a row, ranking in the top 10 among the 30 most powerful DJs in radio. You may remember him as the DJ on 106 & Park or as an official DJ on world tours such as the Roc The Mic tour, which featured stars such as Jay Z, 50 Cent, Lil Mo, Fabolous, Missy, and Busta Rhymes. Currently, you can hear him daily on his nationally syndicated radio show, The QuickSilvaShow, which airs weekdays from 3-7 PM. You can also catch him on television every Saturday at 9 PM on Love & Marriage DC on the OWN network. QuickSilva is the proud owner of two DJ schools, located in Baltimore and DC, respectively. He also owns a nightclub in Baltimore called ClubDownTownBmore and has ownership in C3W, the world’s fastest-growing professional wrestling league. When he’s not working, he serves as a motivational speaker at schools and is an active community servant and philanthropist. Recently, he was honored in DC at the legendary Ben’s Chili Bowl for over 20 years of community service and was added to their Wall of Fame. QuickSilva truly lives by his motto, “Hard Work, Dedication & Consistency #InRealLife.”
PERFORMER CHELSEY GREEN
INTERNATIONAL RECORDING ARTIST Described as “passionate, electrifying, and innovative,” international recording artist Chelsey Green breaks down stereotypes of traditional violin and viola playing. A native of Houston, Texas, Dr. Chelsey Green is a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, entrepreneur and educator that combines Classical and Contemporary to make music uniquely her own. Chelsey Green and The Green Project have released five studio projects, debuted on the Billboard Contemporary Jazz Chart (Top 30), appeared in the Top 5 albums of iTunes Jazz chart and performed live shows, jazz festivals and educational workshops around the world; including shows throughout the United States, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Japan, Haiti and more. Past performance highlights include the Capital Jazz Festival, Seabreeze Jazz Festival, GRAMMY Awards with Lizzo, Songs In The Key Of Life Tour (D.C.) with Stevie Wonder, Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival with jazz violinist Regina Carter, NPR Tiny Desk with Maimouna “Mumu Fresh” Youssef, Black Thought and Wu-Tang Clan, the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival with Terri Lyne Carrington, ensemble debuts with the National Symphony Orchestra and The United States Air Force Band and even a nationally syndicated Walmart commercial produced by BET Networks appearing alongside Kirk Franklin and Estelle. Committed to music education and arts advocacy, Dr. Green regularly performs educational concerts, community workshops and artist residencies to audiences of all types. Her writing has been featured in the New York Times and she has delivered keynote and Commencement addresses at colleges, universities and conferences in both the US and abroad. Dr. Green completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts (D.M.A) degree in 2017 at the University of Maryland College Park and was appointed Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music in August of that same year. Dr. Green also serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Recording Academy (The GRAMMYs). Learn more at www.chelseygreen.com.
PERFORMER LEDISI
GRAMMY WINNING RECORDING ARTIST 2021 Grammy winner, Ledisi is a twelve time Grammy nominated powerhouse vocalist with a career spanning almost two decades. Since arriving on the scene in the late 1990’s, she’s garnered three Soul Train Music awards, an NAACP Theater Award and six NAACP Image Award nominations. Most recently, Ledisi received two LA Alliance Ovation Award nominations one for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Born in New Orleans and raised in Oakland, CA, , Ledisi has wowed fans with her unparallelled vocals ever since she burst onto the scene. She has truly earned a place in the pantheon of the greatest singers of her generation. Ledisi is a favorite of The Obamas and a long list of icons including the late-Prince, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan and so many more. She has headlined two nationally sold-out tours, performed alongside Dave Matthews, Kelly Clarkson, Vince Gill and Maxwell as well as jazz greats Herbie Hancock and Patti Austin. No stranger to the film and television world, Ledisi landed her first feature, singing in the George Clooney directed film Leatherheads. In 2015 she landed a role in the Oscar-nominated movie, Selma, portraying the great Mahalia Jackson and had a notable performance in Gabourney Sidibe’s Shatterbox Anthology film, “The Tale Of Four”. Ledisi secured her first major television role , playing the legendary Patti LaBelle on the hit BET series American Soul. Ledisi has also been active in the theater, making her debut as a Radio and Washing Machine understudy on Broadway appearing in Tony Kushner’s Caroline or Change directed by George C. Wolfe. She helped workshop the Tony Award winning musical, The Color Purple and then began her recording career signing a deal with Verve/Universal Music Group. Ledisi returned to theatre in 2019 as The Ancestor, in the critically acclaimed off broadway musical, Witness Uganda by Griffith Matthews and Matt Gould, the role for which she received the LA Alliance Ovation Award nomination. Also in 2019, she co-wrote and co-produced her one woman show, “The Legend of Little Girl Blue.” The show premiered at the Wallis Theatre in Beverly Hills to rave reviews with 19-sold out shows. Ledisi is extremely passionate about being an advocate for the Arts. Lobbying for young musicians and protecting the rights of creatives. She is an author, releasing her first book Better Than Alright: Finding Peace, Love and Power, a collaboration with Essence Magazine. Her latest book, Don’t Ever Lose Your Walk: How to Embrace Your Journey is released through her own Chinweya Publishing Company. Utilizing and developing her versatile skills as a singer/ songwriter, music producer, author, playwright, film producer and now CEO of her record label Listen Back Entertainment/ BMG.Ledisi is excited about launching several exciting projects in the near future. When you speak of women in entertainment Ledisi is on her way to becoming a crucial part of that conversation. “I am finally realizing my limitless potential as a creative and also now as a businesswoman.”
PROGRAM Welcome From Our Host Uncommon Height Gala Welcome Invocation National Council of Negro Women Non-Profit Organization Welcome State of National Council of Negro Women and Welcoming a New Era Dinner Is Served Performance from Chelsey Green Crystal Stair Award Honoree Tribute Performance from LEDISI National Council of Negro Women CEO and National Chair Thank You Uncommon Height Gala After Party
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