By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
kmcneir@afro.com
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke, and Communications Workers of America President Claude Cummings Jr., were honored during the 2025 NNPA National Leadership Awards Reception, held in the Conrad Hilton Hotel Ballroom in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25.
The annual event, which attracted several hundred guests, remains one of the highpoints of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference, held this year, Sept. 24-28, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Cummings, a veteran labor union member and advocate, who currently serves on the executive committee of the Democratic National Committee, said the Black Press has always been the Black community’s most trusted source for news.
“In my support of political candidates like Beto O’Rourke in Texas, I emphasized that to be competitive, he needed the support of the Black community,” he said. “In other words, I’ve told Democrats that they need to spend money with the Black Press so they can get their message out to Black voters if they’re serious about winning.”
Neither Reps. Clarke nor Jeffries were able to attend the awards due to pressing obligations on Capitol Hill. However, Jeffries did send a video expressing this thanks to Chavis and his board of directors and staff.
“My family has supported the Black Press in New York City reading both The City Sun [no longer in circulation] and The Amsterdam News for as long as I can remember,” Jeffries said. “It’s where we have found stories about our community that are often ignored by mainstream publications.
“I am honored to receive this Leadership Award and to see how the Black Press continues in the path led by such pioneering journalists like Ida B. Wells.”
Wells, a civil rights activist and suffragist, began an extensive investigation on the horrors of White racism and published several works after three of her friends were lynched in 1892. She challenged prevailing false narratives used to justify the heinous practice, using her position as a newspaper editor as a platform.
Attorney Benjamin Crump comes bearing gifts during surprise appearance
Benjamin Crump, often referred to as “Black America’s Attorney General,” was a surprise guest, coming not to receive an award, but to make a donation to the NNPA in the amount of $50,000.
During his comments, Crump sounded more like a passionate preacher than a former smalltown lawyer.
“I came to publicly demonstrate my appreciation to the Black Press because right now in America, they have declared war on Black literature, Black history, Black culture, Black media, Black science, Black health, Black communities – everything Black in every corner of this American society today,” he said. “And they’ve declared war on the First Amendment. I mean, they’re attacking our narratives.”
Crump went on to emphasize the need for Blacks to support their own institutions and legacies – from the Black Press to the leading civil rights organizations like the NAACP, whose national president, Derrick Johnson, and board chair, Leon Russell, were among the program attendees.
“We must make sure that we have institutions disseminating information to our people, being the clarion call for us, standing up and speaking for our children and our communities, and ready to fight [on our behalf],” he added. “No one carries the Black narrative and Black information to Black communities more passionately than the Black Press.”
Crump noted that with financial sources like grants and sponsorships being severely reduced or eliminated as scores of Americans yield to the political rhetoric of Donald Trump, Black must reach into their pockets.
“Everybody’s got to give a little more when they can,” the renowned attorney said. “If you’ve been blessed, you’ve got to pass the blessings on. You just can’t keep it to yourself. Like Dr. King said, we’ve all got a role to play. You can’t be afraid to speak truth to power.”
As the evening drew to a close, the musical entertainment, the One Vision Band and Double O Entertainment, continued to play R&B hits made popular during the ‘70s and ‘80s that moved more than a few people to their feet.
But the biggest surprise came when Cummings took to the mic and said, “You guys are tremendous. But if you were doing The Temptations’ ‘My Girl,’ I would have to take the lead vocals.”
And with that, the band began to play, the crowd began to sway, and some even joined in while being taken back to December 1964 when Motown Records released the chart-busting single.
It was an evening that will long be remembered, from memorable vocals, to memorable music, to a memorable appearance and an even more memorable donation.
