{"id":140648,"date":"2026-02-21T01:27:47","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/140648\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T01:27:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T01:27:47","slug":"bronx-borough-president-vanessa-gibson-hosts-black-history-month-celebration-at-eastwood-manor-bronx-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/140648\/","title":{"rendered":"Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson hosts Black History Month celebration at Eastwood Manor \u2013 Bronx Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"black\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson and other attendees of the annual Black History Month celebration stand for the singing of the National Anthem and \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo by Jewel Webber<\/p>\n

Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson commemorated the 100th anniversary of Black History Month during her office\u2019s annual celebration on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at Eastwood Manor<\/a>, located at 3371 Eastchester Rd.<\/p>\n

\"\"Vocalist Diane Arroya kicked off the event by singing the National Anthem and \u201cLift Every Voice and Sing.\u201d Photo by Jewel Webber<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we mark 100 years of celebrating Black History in this country, we are reminded that Black excellence did not begin a century ago, and it certainly does not end here,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlack history is American history. It is the story of perseverance in the face of injustice, innovation in the face of exclusion and leadership rooted in faith, family and community. Tonight, we celebrate the pioneers and trailblazers whose shoulders we proudly stand on and recommit ourselves to building a borough where opportunity, equity and dignity are not aspirations, but a reality for every Bronx resident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"(Left to right) Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark, Bronx Regional Representative Fidel Malena and Bronx Borough President Vanessa. L. Gibson. Clark and Gibson were surprised with proclamations by Governor Kathy Hochul. Photo by Jewel Webber<\/p>\n

The profound contributions, resilience and enduring legacy of African Americans were all celebrated at this event, which featured PIX 11 News Reporter James Ford as the Master of Ceremonies.<\/p>\n

\"\"Levon Fulmore and The Special Occasion Band performed at the event. Photo by Jewel Webber<\/p>\n

Attendees enjoyed live musical performances, took part in community reflections and listened to a keynote address from New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.<\/p>\n

\"\"New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (middle) was given a Citation of Merit by Gibson. Photo by Jewel Webber<\/p>\n

Multiple community members were also honored at the Black History Month celebration by Gibson and Williams. Honorees included Dwayne Johnson of Johnson\u2019s BBQ<\/a>, Lorraine Rohlsen-Alexander<\/a> of Tennis Lady Co-op City, Celia Cruz High School<\/a> Choir Director Jacqueline Bergland, Metropolitan College of New York<\/a> President Dr. Charles J. Gibbs, Youth Honoree and Cardinal Hayes High School<\/a> Student Darnell L.S. Yates II and J.A.D.E. Multi Family Circle Center Founder and President Dr. Johnnie Goff, who received the Aurelia Greene Award.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dwayne Johnson (second from left) with his Citation of Merit. Photo by Jewel Webber
\n\"\"Lorraine Rohlsen-Alexander (second from left) receiving her Citation of Merit. Photo by Jewel Webber
\n\"\"Jacqueline Bergland (middle) with her Citation of Merit. Photo by Jewel Webber
\n\"\"Dr. Charles J. Gibbs (middle) with his award. Photo by Jewel Webber
\n\"\"Youth Honoree Darnell Yates (middle). Photo by Jewel Webber
\n\"\"Dr. Johnnie Goff (third from left) received the Aurelia Greene Award. Photo by Jewel Webber<\/p>\n

The honorees were recognized for embodying the spirit of excellence and service that defines the Bronx through their unwavering commitment to education, mentorship and community empowerment.<\/p>\n

Sponsors for this year\u2019s Black History Month celebration included Ponce Bank<\/a>, Allied Government Affairs<\/a>, BronxCare Health Systems<\/a> and ElderPlan Homefirst<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ponce Bank IT Systems Administrator Dean Nicholson also received awards from Gibson and Williams. Photo by Jewel Webber<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson and other attendees of the annual Black History Month celebration stand for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140649,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[35604,128,4258,59423,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-140648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-black-history-month","tag-bronx","tag-bronx-borough-president-vanessa-l-gibson","tag-eastwood-manor","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}