Article by:
Latoya Holman
The Public Education Foundation’s mission is to partner with the community and the Clark County School District to meet immediate, critical education needs that will strengthen our public schools. Thanks to our many community partners, we work to ensure every public-school student in Clark County can succeed. Together, we are driving public education forward.
Juneteenth provides us an opportunity to honor the past, celebrate the present, and build hope for the future. As we mark the first year that Juneteenth is a state holiday in Nevada, it also gives us the ability to educate others on the importance of this day and rally the community around the powerful African American leaders in our state, especially the magical Black women who are driving Nevada forward.
A few short months ago I celebrated a year of impact as Chief Development Officer of the Public Education Foundation (PEF). Through my first year, I met and engaged with the students, teachers, and families that make up the community we served and the donors who support them as they pursue their goals. In these interactions, I saw an opportunity for PEF to bring together the powerful female leaders committed to education to make a major impact for these individuals. From this idea, the Black Girl Magic Juneteenth Jubilee Luncheon was born.
The luncheon, held in concert with the Juneteenth holiday, was meant to provide a celebratory space where ideas and experiences can be shared by Black women who have had a significant impact in education and in our community - and it provided that and so much more. We started by rallying an incredible host committee of 33 Black female leaders of all ages, professions, and backgrounds. These women helped us determine how we can celebrate our diversity while also building a sense of community and belonging. Through these discussions, we kept coming back to the number four.
Four, in honor of the four little girls we lost in Birmingham, Alabama on September 15, 1963, in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Denise McNair, Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley were four young Black girls who had incredible hopes and dreams and could have become so much had they been given the chance.
In honor of these four girls, we built our Black Girl Magic Juneteenth Jubilee Luncheon to celebrate four Black women who have achieved amazing things. At the Luncheon, Ebere Arum, Director of Community Relations for the Las Vegas Raiders, shared how her mother, Virginia Arum, inspired a new generation as an educator. North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown, the first Black mayor in Nevada history, spoke of the bond we share and how we must uplift each other and other Black women. Justice Patricia Lee, the first Black female Nevada Supreme Court Justice, shared how Rosa Parks herself inspired her to attend law school. Dr. Celese Rayford, Region 2 Superintendent for the Clark County School District, inspired us with the village of people who supported and encouraged her on her life journey.
Throughout our planning, we returned to the idea of these four little girls and their legacy that inspired so many others to live their dreams. It was important to PEF and every member of our host committee that we created something positive, lasting, and meaningful for other young Black women in our community. With decades of experience supporting students as they pursued their college and career dreams, PEF’s Scholarships Plus program was a perfect fit. Proceeds from the Black Girl Magic Juneteenth Jubilee Luncheon established the Black Girl Magic Scholarship, created to support the college goals of African American students who identify as female or non-binary, with a special focus on students attending HBCUs.
Thanks to the incredible community response, we sold the event out twice! Nearly 400 community leaders came together to celebrate courage, resilience, and Black excellence, and invest in the future through education. With the support of this community and a generous matching gift from the Charles and Phyllis M. Frias Charitable Trust, $80,000 will be awarded through the inaugural Black Girl Magic Scholarship.
I was so heartened to see the community show up for this event and experience the inclusive space we created where everyone can feel valued and supported - from the powerful Black women speaking on stage to the daughters and granddaughters who listened, learned, and were motivated to go out and do great things. I can’t wait to see how all of our attendees will carry this inspiration forward in their daily lives and share it with others, and I am already counting down the days to our 2nd Annual Black Girl Magic Juneteenth Jubilee Luncheon on June 18, 2024!
I hope you will join PEF for this event and upcoming signature event, the Golden Apple Gala on September 8, 20 at Paris Las Vegas as well as the many other initiatives and programs that provide opportunities for every student in our community. Learn more at http://www.thepef.org.