Kings Black History Committee celebrates 20th Annual Black History Celebration and Awards Dinner at Hanford Civic Auditorium

According to the Committee’s chairperson, Paula Massey, over 300 persons attended the annual event that honored local volunteers and handed out five scholarships. Kings County’s congressman, TJ Cox, was there to help hand out scholarships and awards.

In addition to the scholarships, a pair of local Hanford women were honored for their contributions, receiving the Wanda Williams-Hinton award, named after a Hanford civil rights activist who helped to foster the annual Black History Month celebration.

This year, Carolyn Hudgins and LisaJo Narcisse received the annual award. Hudgins is involved with the non-profit organization Vision Unlimited, while Narcisse started a special needs support group for Kings County that services all 13 school districts in Kings County.

Rep. Cox helped award this year’s scholarship recipients. Scholarships were awarded to Isaiah Love, of Hanford West High School, Darius Gatson, Hanford West, Alondra Kelley, Earl F. Johnson, Jaunte Barnes, Kings Valley Academy II, and Mason Young, Lemoore Middle College High School.

Keynote speaker this year was Kumi Rauf, a world traveler, social strategist, and the creator and CEO of “I Love Being Black.”