Northern Virginia Urban League Hands Out Honors

Urban League honors governors, groundbreaking community leaders, Freedom House and awards $32,500 in scholarships at annual gala.

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The Northern Virginia Urban League (NVUL) recently honored Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin E. Fairfax, former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder and Fairfax native, Cadet Simone Askew, the first African-American female commander at West Point.

The Urban League awarded more than $32,500 in scholarships to local minority Northern Virginia students, including a first-time youth award to 11-year old Naomi Wadler, the Alexandria 5th-grader who spoke so eloquently at the March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C.

The honors were all presented at the 28th Annual Community Service and Scholarship Awards event April 27 at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner.

Each honoree achieved career milestones which made the evening moving and inspired new volunteerism and service commitments from the audience.

Additionally, the gala program, emceed by radio personality Angela Stribling of WHUR 96.3, paid homage to the historic landmark, Freedom House Museum in Alexandria and kicked off a capital campaign to preserve the site, which was once headquarters for the largest domestic slave-trading firm in America and now serves as headquarters for the NVUL.

Mayor Allison Silberberg presented a proclamation to NVUL Board Chair Tracey Walker and paid tribute to the group's work in the areas of education, jobs and justice in her remarks.

Distinguished honorees recognized as "Community Champions" included:

  • The Honorable Justin E. Fairfax (Lieutenant Governor, Commonwealth of Virginia): Man of the Year award
  • The Honorable L. Douglas Wilder (Former governor, Commonwealth of Virginia): Lifetime Achievement award 
  • Cadet Simone Askew (First African-American female to hold the position of First Captain of the U.S. Military Academy Corps of Cadets - commanding a brigade of 4,400 (West Point): Emerging Leader award 
  • Naomi Wadler (Youth Activist): Young Emerging Leader award 
  • SunTrust Bank Greater Washington: Outstanding Corporate Sponsor award 

“'Preserving Our History and Empowering the Future' is a fitting theme for the evening," said Board Chair Tracey Walker. "The dark memories of the antebellum past are now inspiring achievements of these amazing leaders and scholars. Their accomplishments represent hope, pride, reconciliation and effective pathways forward to an empowered tomorrow. The League is proud to serve the community with programming to make a difference for the future.”

Seniors receiving a college scholarship in the amount of $5,000 each were: Clarence T. Brown III - Charles J. Colgan, Sr. High School, Manassas; Adriana H. Jones - Heritage High School, Leesburg; Justin H. Moore - Forest Park High School, Woodbridge; Naomi M. Nero - Oakton High School, Vienna; Zoe Price - T.C. Williams High School, Alexandria;Tylan L. Reeves - Tuscarora High School, Leesburg.

Monies raised from the gala will support preservation of the Freedom House Museum and its new capital campaign, STEM Education Programs, STEM Summer Camps, STEM Technology Expositions, mentoring programs, leadership development programs for young professionals, and $32,500 in scholarship awards to minority youth.

For additional information about the Northern Virginia Urban League, visit www.nvul.org or call (703) 836-2858.

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