FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 21, 2019 • BLACK HISTORY MONTH • THE QUEENS COURIER 71
black history month
Obba Babatundé — Lifetime
Achievement Award
Known worldwide by audiences of all
ages, Obba Babatundé has succeeded as
an actor, singer, dancer, director, writer
and producer. With a career spanning
over four decades, Babatundé has awards
and nominations from CBS’s Th e Bold
and the Beautiful, his Emmy nominated
performance in the HBO movie “Miss
Evers’ Boys,” his Tony Award nomination
for his role in “Dreamgirls”, his
“Best Actor” Award win for the Musical
“Sammy” from the San Diego Critics
Circle Awards, his NAACP Image
Award as “Best Actor” for his role as
Sarge in “A Soldier’s Play”, the NAACP
Trailblazer Award win, a NAACP
Image Award-nominated performance
in the HBO movie “Introducing
Dorothy Dandridge” and several others.
Babatundé has appeared in more than
17 stage productions, 33 fi lms and 60+
television series and made-for-television
movies. He was the associate producer of
the horror classic fi lm “Voodoo Dolls”
and the executive producer/director of
the award-winning short fi lms “Journey”
and “Clarissa’s Gift . “ He co-authored,
directed and produced the theatrical
stage play “In Th e Blink of An Eye.”
He attended Brooklyn College. With his
brother, Akin Babatundé, he co-founded
one of New York City’s fi rst arts-based
schools in Brooklyn. He is a horse whisperer,
knows American Sign Language
and has competed in rodeos. Babatundé
remains a dedicated father and proud
grandfather who continues to pursue
excellence wherever he ventures.
Peter F. Edwards —
Sports Award
As a youth, Peter F. Edwards played
basketball at IS8. He attended the
New York Institute of Technology
in Old Westbury, Long Island on a
basketball scholarship. After graduation,
Edwards returned to his old
neighborhood with a Bachelor’s
Degree in Business Administration
and Management. As a give back to
the community that helped raise him,
Edwards ran the local night center
three days a week. While running
IS8 Basketball, Edwards also worked
for the New York City Housing
Authority. IS8 Basketball has created
a safe haven in the community
which has helped keep children off the
streets. The program provides a showcase
where top basketball players compete.
Hundreds have received scholarships
to attend prep schools and
colleges. Despite moving out of the
neighborhood, Edwards still returns
to run the IS8 Basketball program,
which has the slogan, “bring your
game, not your name.” The program
has events from January to February,
April to May, July to August and
September to October. Edwards currently
serves as IS8 Basketball League
Commissioner. Started at the night
center, IS8 Basketball is currently in
its 35th year.
Meredith Marshall —
Business Award
Co-founder of BRP Companies, vertically
integrated owner, operator,
developer and manager in the New
York Tri-State area, Mr. Marshall has a
track record of 1.3 million SF of completed
real estate projects. With 70
employees, his fi rm has over $1 billion
in transactions currently under development.
Marshall is responsible for
executing BRP’s investment strategy
including deal organization, acquisition,
fi nance and development. He has
also led the fi rm’s strategic partnership
initiatives such as the fi rm’s decade
long partnership with Goldman Sachs
Urban Investment Group. Prior to
co-founding BRP, Marshall was a
Managing Director at Musa Capital
Advisors, an emerging markets private
equity and fi nancial advisory
fi rm based in New York City. Musa
Capital managed a separate account
for Kingdom Holding Africa, HRH’s
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s investment
vehicle for Sub-Saharan Africa.
At Musa Capital, Marshall was instrumental
in executing cross-border
transactions including the $37 million
development of a mixed-use offi ce complex
and mall in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Marshall also led successful investments
in the Telecommunications
and Financial Services sectors. Prior
to Musa Capital Advisors, Marshall
was a Senior Associate at Wasserstein
Perella & Co., an investment banking
fi rm based in New York City.
Since 2018, he has proudly served
on the Boards of Enterprise NYC
Advisory Board and Citizens Housing
and Planning Council. Marshall
holds a Bachelor of Science degree in
Electrical Engineering from Boston
University and a Masters of Business
Administration in Finance and
International Business from Columbia
Business School.
Mark McMillan — Civic Award
As a native New Yorker, Mark
McMillan presently serves as District
Manager for Queens Community
Board 13. In this role, he is responsible
for assuring the 215,000 person district
receives the city services needed
for its constituents. McMillan has
expanded the board offi ce and communication
outreach eff orts through
innovation and technology with communication
to board members, elected
offi cials, agency representatives and
the community at-large. Regular email
notices that address constituent complaints,
local events and the creation of
a Community Board brand and identity
campaign are among his eff orts. Before
joining QCB 13, McMillan served as
Director of Economic Development &
Community Partnerships in the Offi ce
of Communications and External
Relations at Medgar Evers College. He
was responsible for outreach in designing,
planning, and managing a fundraising
program for the school. Th is
combines sponsorships, partnerships
and related activities. He was at the
Offi ce of the Queens Borough President
for twelve years as Deputy Counsel.
He advised the Borough President,
her senior staff , Queens Community
Boards and non-profi ts on various legal
issues. He had additional responsibilities
as the Borough President’s liaison
with the uniformed services including:
NYPD, FDNY, OEM, NYC Department
of Corrections/Probation and the military/
veterans community. He was also
the liaison to the District Attorney’s
Offi ce and the Legal Aid Society.
McMillan serves on the Community
Advisory Boards of both the Belmont
Redevelopment Project and the United
States Postal Services-Jamaica Station.
He serves on the Executive Board of
the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute
(MMEI) in Jackson, Mississippi. He
focuses on civic engagement, social justice,
education and youth mentorship.
actor and Queens native Obba Babatundé,
who is also one of eight individuals who
will be presented with awards recognizing
their accomplishments in their
respective fi elds. Th e winners include:
• Obba Babatundé - Lifetime
Achievement Award
• Peter Edwards - Sports Award
• Cynthia Horner - Journalism Award
• Meredith Marshall - Business Award
• Mark McMillan, Esq. - Civic Award
• Donna Edge Rachell - Arts & Culture
Award
• April Simpson - Borough President’s
Award
• Dennis Walcott - Education Award
Sponsors of the annual Black
History Month Celebration include
ConEdison, JetBlue, the Greater Jamaica
Development Corp., Ridgewood Savings
Bank, the Queens Alumnae Chapter
of Delta Sigma Th eta Sorority, Resorts
World New York, the H & N Insurance
Agency, Community Mediation Services,
the Jamaica YMCA, Ponce de Leon Bank,
Get Empowered! and NYC Health +
Hospitals/Queens.
Th e program takes place at 6 p.m. on
Feb. 26 in the Helen Marshall Cultural
Center at Borough Hall, 120-55 Queens
Blvd., Kew Gardens.
Katz commended her African
American Heritage Committee for coordinating
the planning of the celebration.
Th e committee is comprised of community
leaders who feel strongly about the
importance of honoring the past, while
also looking to the future.
Borough President Katz’s African
American Heritage Committee includes
committee chair Andrew P. Jackson
(Sekou Molefi Baako); Dr. Sonia R.
Banks, Ph. D, LCP; Pastor John Boyd II,
New Greater Bethel Ministries; Cedric
Dew, Jamaica YMCA; Marc A. Haken,
Community Board 8 Youth, Education
and Library Committee; John Harrison,
Community Mediation Services;
Harbachan Singh, Community Board 8
& Queens General Assembly; and Roslin
Spigner, Delta Sigma Th eta Sorority, Inc.
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