By Tangerine Clarke
Award-winning actress, singer/
songwriter Naturi Naughton,
received one of New York’s
highest honors, when Mayor
Bill deBlasio proclaimed Friday,
June 18, 2021 her day, in
the City of New York, during a
Juneteenth celebration in St.
Nicholas Park, Harlem.
While saying he appreciates
actresses, actors, and performers,
who have a choice to go
off into the life of fame’ and
fortune, but instead, stay connected
to the people, the politician
praised Naughton for her
benevolent endeavors.
“We take the occasion of
Juneteenth to honor someone
who remembers where she
came from and cares about
doing something for the community.
She is an actor, singer,
songwriter, from New Jersey,
but now she calls Brooklyn
home. She won two NAACP
Images Awards for playing the
character in the STARZ series,
‘Power.’ She was on Broadway
in ‘Hairspray’ for three years,
and no matter how busy she
is, she always gives back to her
community.”
“Her foundation, Naturi’s
Dreamers Foundation, fed over
10,000 families in New York and
New Jersey during this pandemic,”
Caribbean L 20 ife, JUNE 25-JULY 1, 2021
shared deBlasio to loud
applause.
“She wants to create generational
wealth, so she is teaching
financial literacy to young people
so they can be ready to create
and keep that generational
wealth. It is my pleasure to call
to the stage, a great acto. and
humanitarian, and now a great
New Yorker, Naturi Naughton,”
declared deBlasio, before presenting
a Proclamation to the
East Orange-born R&B singer
and TV personality.
“Thank you so much, Mayor
Bill deBlasio. This is a great
honor on Juneteenth, such an
amazing day, and speaking of
the power of choice, and not forgetting
where I came from, that
is who I am,” said Naughton.
The superstar described herself
as a young black girl who
grew up in the inner city of
New Jersey, and explained how
she had gotten to this point in
her life.
“Juneteenth is a reminder
for me and for all of us,” said
the Hip-Hop recording artist.
“My ancestors are whispering
in the background, saying let’s
not forget how this country got
here, and I think of my vow as
an entertainer. I am more than
that. I am a living example of
my ancestor’s wildest dreams. I
am the example of hope, endurance,
and inspiration, a girl who
rarely takes no for an answer,
and even through the coronavirus,
we remain strong people.
New York City we did it, we are
survivors, and that means so
much to me,” said Naughton,
the daughter of St. Croix-born
father, Ezra Naughton.
She is proud that her young
daughter, Zuri will grow up
in a world that celebrates a
part of history that she didn’t.
“Juneteenth was not in the history
books for me, and I didn’t
get a day off from work,” she
Award-winning actress, songwriter and humanitarian Naturi
Naughton accepts a proclamation from Mayor Bill deBlasio,
who proclaimed Friday, June 18, her day in New York City.
Photo by Tangerine Clarke
said, before thanking, President
Joe Biden for making the day a
federal holiday.
Naughton spoke of her
mother who came from Raleigh
North Carolina, and her grandfather
who came to New Jersey,
bought a house in the 1950s,
and opened the first black tailoring
shop in North New Jersey.
She also praised her West
Indian grandfather, who educated
himself, to the doctorate
level and became a professor at
Howard University.
“In a country where higher
education was often reserved
for the elite, my grandmother,
Maria Naughton, moved from
the tiny island of St. Croix, to
the mean streets of Brooklyn,
became a registered nurse, and
worked for 40 years at Kings
County Hospital,” reminisced
Naughton, who applauded
healthcare workers on the
frontlines, saving lives like her
grandmother did, many years
ago.
Mayor deBlasio honors
actress Naturi Naughton
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