63rd Anniversary Gala of is a Triumph

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By Helen O’Field

From James Weldon Johnson’s Black National Anthem (“Lift every voice and sing”), to the Buffalo Soldiers Color Guard, to Carmelia “Toot” Bell, who brought down the house with a soulful rendition of Sam Cooke’s “Change is Going to Come”, to Dr. Warren’s moving prepared remarks, to the roll call of noble gala sponsors, to the adroit, insightful and touching comments of Mayor Todd Gloria, San Diego’s 37th and youngest mayor, to the who’s who roster of award winners, to Erisa Nicole, the cutest saxophone player ever; the audience was riveted from start to finish.

If you missed the above, well, there’s always next year. The stakes are high given the gala’s annual theme and the paper’s motto: A people without a voice cannot be heard. The story of America’s black press is nothing if not plucky, gutsy, rooted in the story of our nation and rife with writing and editing talent. Take West’s and Warren’s commemorative January issue about Martin Luther King, Jr.—it deserves a Pulitzer Prize, it’s that good, that wrenching, that historical; one for the ages.

This year, the Unsung Hero Award went to Chuck Ambers, college teacher, art history expert and founder/ curator of the Casa del Rey Moro African Museum. The Judicial Excellence Award ble Judge Roderick Shelton, impassioned about justice, youthful, and the first African American to be appointed to the California Superior Court. He thanked his wife of 25 years for her support.

The Publisher’s Award went to Regina Wilson, executive director of California Black Media (CBM), based in Sacramento. CBM is dedicated to advocating for AfricanAmerican-owned news outlets across California.

A trio of pastors received the Good Shepherd Award: Pastor Roland Slade, Meridian Southern Baptist Church; Pastor J. Linzie Whitmill, Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church; and Pastor Nate Stewart, the youngest and now leader of Greater Life Baptist Church.

The Gerri Warren Humanitarian Award went to Gordon Brown for his decades of training countless children in the sport of golf, wherein they gain skills like concentration, coordination, goal-setting, patience and joy in the doing.

The Organizational Excellence Award went to the San Diego Community Foundation. Executive Director, Mark Stuart, accepted the award, which honored the foundation’s speedy and sensitive response to the community’s needs countywide, especially in the Age of Covid. Along the way, Dr. Warren praised other notables in the audience that night, including Nick Macchione, Director of San Diego County Health and Human Services; US Bank and Union Bank representatives Frank Robinson and Rockette Ewell; the Port of San Diego; and introduced his historian wife, Dolores Warren, whose biracial heritage led to her major contributions to the story of the Underground Railroad in New Jersey, including a stunning monument and recognition by the National You can see why nobody wanted to go home.