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- IN PHILADELPHIA -
The Black Women's Educational Alliance (BWEA) Philadelphia Chapter presented an "Evening of Elegance Celebrating the First Ladies of Philadelphia" on Friday, March 19, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Southwest Philadelphia. The Black Women's Educational Alliance is a non-profit organization founded in 1975 in response to concerns about equality of opportunities for Black women in all divisions of education, as well as the expressed need for sustained networking for both intellectual and professional development.
Keynote speaker, Autumn J. Adkins, president of the historical Girard College in North Philadelphia, was presented with the organization's first Trailblazer Award by Stefan Feaster-Eberhardt, chapter president. The 2010 First Ladies of Philadelphia Honorees were Bishop Audrey Bronson, president of the Black Minister's Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity, recipient of The Religious Commitment Award; Beatrice " Dee" Phillips, vice president of the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, recipient of The Service to the School District of Philadelphia Service Award; and Dr. Arlene C. Ackerman, superintendent and CEO of the School District of Philadelphia, recipient of The Education Award.
Adkins, appointed as the 16th president of Girard College in July 2009, made heartfelt remarks about how she stood on the shoulders of her beloved grandmother, the late Fannie Smith Atkins, her mother and others who nurtured and encouraged her. I was honored to share with her that my aunt, the late Maude H. Roberts, joined the late Cecil B. Moore and others during the valiant fight for equality at Girard College and anywhere they were needed. Adkins was joined by her proud parents, Paul and Maxine S. Adkins, who traveled from...