fbpx

The Legacy

Pioneers

CHAMPIONS

OF EQUITY

Join us for the Legacy Pioneers award ceremony where we come together to celebrate the outstanding achievements and amplify the voices of those dedicated to making a meaningful difference in the black community.

WHEN

February 12, 2024, 6-9pm

WHERE

Blg Night Live

110 Causeway St

Boston, MA 02114

GET TICKETS

MEET OUR HONOREES

ICONS

John Cruz

Marvin Gilmore

Colette Phillips

Darryl Settles

Richard Taylor

Teri Williams

DYNAMIC DUOS

Deborah and Duane Jackson

Benaree "Bennie" and Fletcher "Flash" Wiley

RISING FORCES

Nia Evans

Glynn Lloyd

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley

IN LOVING MEMORY

Bruce C. Bolling

Kenneth I. Guscott

Senator Bill Owens

Archie and Elizabeth "Beth" Williams

Leon Nelson

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

HERE'S TO THE CHANGEMAKERS

The Legacy Pioneers wouldn’t be possible without the help of our partners. If you’re interested in showing your support for our honorees, we invite you to join your sponsorship program.

BECOME A SPONSOR

OUR SPONSORS

OUR MEDIA PARTNER

The Legacy

Pioneers

ICONS

John Cruz

John B. Cruz III is president and CEO of Cruz Companies, a leading minority-owned construction firm dedicated to increasing affordable housing opportunities and providing jobs to residents and other minority businesses.

ICONS

Marvin Gilmore

Marvin Gilmore, a World War II veteran, humanitarian, author, entrepreneur, and advisor, has dedicated a lifetime to service and community development. Co-founder of Boston’s first Black-owned commercial bank, he was a powerful force for development for decades.

Now, Gilmore advises organizations seeking to improve the lives of Bostonians. He established the Marvin & Lorna Gilmore Foundation for international students at Brandeis University, and is a board member for several NPOs.

ICONS

Colette Phillips

Colette Phillips, CPC Global CEO, has been widely celebrated as one of Boston’s most influential people. She is considered the pioneer of multicultural marketing in New England, with her many accomplishments earning dozens of accolades in an illustrious career spanning more than  three decades.

Phillips is an entrepreneur, teacher, author, and founder of innovative multicultural tools Kaleidoscope and Get Konnected! She currently sits on the boards of several local and national organizations.

ICONS

Darryl Settles

Darryl Settles, one of Boston’s Most Influential Men of Color, has spent more than 30 years empowering communities of color. An entrepreneur and businessman who sits on multiple distinguished boards, Settles is president of Catalyst Ventures Development and a founding member of minority-focused groups such as the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Boston Means Business, the Builders of Color Coalition, and the Boston Real Estate Inclusion Fund.

ICONS

Richard Taylor

Richard L. Taylor has nearly 50 years of experience in law and real estate, having served on the boards of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Boston NAACP, and Boston’s Federal Reserve Bank. He was a founding president of the Minority Developers Association and Boston University’s first Rhodes Scholar.

Taylor heads the Taylor Smith Group development firm and holds degrees from Oxford University, Harvard University, Wentworth Institute, and Bridgewater State.

ICONS

Teri Williams

Teri Williams, president and CEO of the largest Black-owned bank in the US, OneUnited Bank, graduated from Harvard and Brown universities before launching a 30-year career in finance. She worked for Bank of America and served as one of American Express’s youngest VPs.

Williams is an author who is passionate about empowering urban communities. She is the former chairperson of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and director of the Floridian 79th Street Corridor Initiative. 

DYNAMIC DUO

Deborah

and

Duane Jackson

Deborah and Duane Jackson’s common passion for minority inclusion has proven as strong as their marital bond. 

Deborah Jackson, Cambridge College president, has led prominent NPOs such as the Red Cross, Boston Foundation, and Boston’s Children’s Hospital. She now sits on several influential boards.

Duane Jackson, founder and managing member of real estate and development firm Alinea Capital Partners, has served as chairman of boards including the Massachusetts Port Authority.

DYNAMIC DUOS

Benaree "Bennie" Wiley

and

Fletcher "Flash" Wiley

Benaree “Bennie” Wiley and Fletcher “Flash” Wiley have devoted more than five decades to leadership, philanthropy, and service. Pioneers of progress, their advocacy for diversity continues to be awarded. 

Bennie Wiley was named one of Boston’s most powerful women, while Fletcher Wiley was among the first African-Americans to enter traditionally white-dominated spaces, blazing a trail for others.

Their dedication to civic engagement, and each other, remains a beacon of inspiration.

RISING FORCES

Nia Evans

Nia Evans’ leadership in community transformation and social justice is remarkable, supported by strong advocacy for policy change. 

Evans is director of the Boston Ujima Project, an organization that joins working-class people of color in Boston under a united goal to create a “community-controlled economy.” She is also co-founder of the Frames Debate Project, a policy debate program seeking to explore the connection between drug policy, mental healthcare, and incarceration.

RISING FORCES

Glynn Lloyd

Glynn Lloyd is a lifelong innovator in urban economic development. He is the executive director of Mill Cities Community Investments, Boston’s first Black-led CDFI, and he helped establish several community improvement groups, including the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts and the Foundation for Business Equity.

Lloyd was just recently appointed to the Economic Development Planning Council of MA, where he will help chart a course for economic development policy.

RISING FORCES

Congresswoman

Ayanna

Pressley

Congresswoman the Honorable Ayanna Pressley has been breaking barriers for years of revolutionary public service, serving in the U.S. government as a legislator while championing activism and social justice.

Pressley was the first Black woman to be elected to the Boston City Council and also the first to be elected to Congress from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She currently serves on the House Committee on Financial Services.

IN LOVING MEMORY

The Honorable

Bruce C.

Brolling

The Honorable Bruce Bolling has a rich legacy of promoting diversity and equity in Massachusetts. During his many years in politics, he helped to advance laws that would improve the lives of residents for decades to come.

Bolling was the first Black man elected president of the Boston City Council, and even ran for Mayor at one point. His advancements transformed the political landscape for visible minorities in Boston.

IN LOVING MEMORY

Kenneth I. Guscott

Kenneth I. Guscott was a World War II veteran whose leadership as president of the Greater Boston NAACP was central to desegregation in Boston’s schools.

Dedicated to civic equality, Guscott ceaselessly supported minority-owned businesses and ultimately developed the State Street Financial Center — at the time, the biggest office tower financed and planned by minority investors. Born to Jamaican immigrant parents, he also served as the Honorary Consul to Jamaica from MA.

IN LOVING MEMORY

Senator Bill Owens

Sen. Bill Owens was a champion of social policy whose impact as a public servant, entrepreneur, and educator carries on today. 

Owens was the first Black man elected as a State Senator in Massachusetts, and the visionary who first proposed reparations for slavery. He spearheaded the State Office of Minority and Women’s Business Assistance and helped develop Roxbury Community College, the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic facility, and more.

DYNAMIC DUO

Archie and

Elizabeth "Beth"

Williams

Archie and Elizabeth “Beth” Williams are the father-daughter duo behind Roxbury Technology Corporation (RTC), a small business with great accomplishments.

Archie Williams founded RTC in 1994, but it became an award-winning, multimillion-dollar business after Beth Williams succeeded him in 2003.

Beth resolutely supported CORI reform, and former convicts made up over 15% of RTC’s staff. She is remembered as a kind-hearted member of her community who cared deeply for others.

IN LOVING MEMORY

Leon Nelson

Leon T. Nelson was the founder of the Greater Roxbury Chamber of Commerce, former president of the Boston NAACP, former Director for 16 years for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People annual National Conventions, former administrator with Freedom House, Inc., and ABCD, and made it his life’s work to put community and Black people first. His commitment to advancing the needs and rights for Black Boston played a pivotal mark in this city’s history. Mr. Nelson was a former basileus of Gamma Phi Chapter, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Boston, Ma, former member St. Stephens Lodge, the Imperial Council -AEAON of the Mystic Shrine — Prince Hall Masons, Boston, Ma. Leon T. Nelson was married to Charlotte Nelson, a union of civil rights and social justice. Their daughter, Lori D. Nelson continues in their legacy today.