By Akira Barclay, NY Contributor
NEW YORK, NY – A diverse audience of more than 500 New York and national movers and shakers gathered at the Marriott Marquis Grand Ballroom on Thursday, February 21st for One Hundred Black Men, Inc. of New York City’s 50th Anniversary celebration and 33rd Annual Benefit Gala. Celebrating fifty years of leadership, advocacy and community service, the organization saluted five national civic and business leaders:
- The Hon. David N. Dinkins, Former New York City Mayor and One Hundred Black Men Founder
- The Hon. H. Carl McCall, Former New York State Comptroller and Chairman, Board of Trustees, SUNY
- Kevin Newell, Executive Vice President and Global Chief Brand Officer, McDonald’s Corporation
- Vivian Pickard, President of GM Foundation, General Motors Corporation
- James Reynolds, Jr., Chairman & CEO, Loop Capital Markets
Dari Alexander, anchor of Fox 5 News, and David Ushery, anchor of NBC News 4 New York and host of “The Debrief with David Ushery,” served as co-emcees of the Black tie fundraiser that raised $700,000. The gala featured a cocktail reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner, program and dancing at 7:30 p.m.
100 Black Men of America Chairman Curley Dossman, Jr.; Honoree and President of GM Foundation, General Motors Corporation, Vivian Pickard and OHBM President Fitzgerald Miller
One Hundred Black Men President Fitzgerald Miller welcomed guests to the VIP reception including Congressman Gregory Meeks; New York City Comptroller John Liu; Former New York City Comptroller William Thompson; 100 Black Men of America Chairman Emeritus Thomas Dortch; 100 Black Men of America Chairman Curley Dossman, Jr. and immediate Past President and Chairman Emeritus Albert Dotson, Jr.; former Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield President Mark Wagar; New York State Senators Eric Adams and Ruth Hassell-Thompson; ESSENCE Editor Emerita Susan L. Taylor; Tuskegee Airman and OHBM Past President Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Jr.; Medgar Evers College President Dr. William Pollard; students from the Eagle Academy for Young Men; President of the Academy Foundation and founding principal of the Eagle Academy, David Banks, Esq., Eagle Academy Special Assistant Yvette Crespo, benefit committee member Philip Banks, Jr., OHBM immediate past President; Hazel Dukes, President, NY State NAACP Conference; and, former MTA Board member James Harding, Jr.
Students from Eagle Academy for Young Men
“Tonight marks not only a remarkable milestone in the life of our organization, it serves to validate the incredible vision and leadership of the legions of men who shaped, supported and sustained the mission of One Hundred Black Men at the beginning and through the years,” said OHBM President Fitzgerald Miller. “We began in New York City, but evolved into a national organization with 118 affiliate Chapters from New York City to San Francisco and all the States in between, and are now headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.”
One Hundred Black Men, Inc. of New York City wishes to thank its sponsors: Walmart, News Corporation, Bloomberg, Empire BlueCross BlueShield, Leo Burnett, Loop Capital Partners, McDonald’s Corporation, Moët Hennessy USA and Turner Construction Company for their generous support.
ABOUT ONE HUNDRED BLACK MEN
One Hundred Black Men, Inc. of New York City was founded in 1963 when a group of successful African-American men came together to pool their resources to positively impact the Black community. One Hundred Black Men, Inc.’s service projects focus on mentoring, education, health and wellness, and economic development. The organization has a long and successful history of working with its corporate and community partners to make significant differences in the lives of the communities it serves. A celebrated example is the establishment of The Eagle Academy for Young Men in the Bronx, a public school with a focus on academic excellence, leadership and character development and more recently, Eagle Academies have opened in Brooklyn, Queens and Newark, NJ.
For more information or to support the programs of the organization, call 212-777-7070 or log on to www.ohbm.org.