Bergen County Honors Seven at Black History Month Celebration

HACKENSACK -- Seven local women were honored for outstanding contributions to the community in front of an overflow crowd at Bergen County’s Black History Month Celebration Thursday night.

The seven included a Teaneck realtor and an award-winning artist who taught at . Keynote speaker Ursula Parrish Daniels reminded the audience of trailblazers before them by sharing the story of her grandmother, Mary Virginia Cook Parrish, who was born a slave but graduated college with honor and fought for civil rights.

“It is time, Grandmother Parrish, to tell your story,” Daniels said to the crowd packed in the freeholder chambers. 

When Cook Parrish learned she could not join a Parent Teacher Association in Louisville, Kentucky, she organized her own in the city’s black-only school, Daniels said.

She refused to accept that black children were without a playground and showed up at the mayor’s office to demand one be built. Three weeks later, the children had their playground, Daniels recalled.

And when she was blocked from bringing children to the local YWCA, she organized her own chapter.

“One day, it is said, she took ten little girls with her to the Y and they called the police, and said you may not stay here, these children are not welcome,” Daniels said. 

Speaking to the assembled women, Daniels said the group should reflect on what legacy they will leave.

“Our models of vigilance, steadfastness and righteous discontent, activism, [and] revolutionary behavior, require that we continue to be women who make a difference,” she said.

Of the honorees, those with Teaneck-connections included Cedar Lane Real Estate broker Denise Stanford Belcher, who was given the Women in Business Award. Award-wining artist Lottie Porch, who taught at Teaneck High School, was given the Women in Art award, and Misha Inniss-Thompson, a Dwight-Englewood student, was selected for the Promise Award.

Bergen County Executive Kathleen Donovan also issued an official proclamation recognizing Black History Month in the county.

Read below for the full list of women honored at the event, with details provided by event organizers:

Deborah Witcher Jackson – Community Leadership Award:

Deborah Witcher Jackson is serving her fifth term as president of the Bergen/Passaic Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc. She served with NCBW chapters in Houston and joined the Bergen chapter in 1996. She also served on the group’s national board. The non-profit NCBW conducts mentoring programs with girls at Dwight Morrow High School and Teaneck High School.

Edna E. Floyd – Community Spirit Award:

Edna E. Floyd, 91 of Englewood, has been a lifelong resident of the city and a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church for more than 50 years. She graduated from Dwight Morrow School and later received a master’s degree in music education from Hampton University.

At the church, she has served as a musician, choir director, Sunday school teacher and president of the Missionary Society.

Lillian K. Whitaker – Education Professional Award:

Lillian K. Whitaker is principal of Hackensack’s Nellie K. Parker School. In addition, she serves on the board of University Heights in Newark. She was given the Hackensack Distinguished Citizen Award in 2005. Whitaker holds a master’s degree in education from New Jersey City University.

Lottie Porch – Women in Art Award: 

Lottie E. Porch, who taught at Teaneck High School, is an award-winning actor, writer and educator. Porch has directed more than 30 plays and been published in literary journals. She recently directed her first film, “Beyond the Music.”

Porch studied at Bank Street College of Education and Temple University. She earned a master’s degree in educational theatre from New York University.

Denise Stanford Belcher – Women in Business Award:

Denise Stanford Belcher owns XCEED Realty on Cedar Lane in Teaneck. She is also director of the School of Real Estate Studies, which she founded in 2008. She has more than 25 years of real estate experience.

In addition to her business endeavors, Stanford Belcher is a former president of the Teaneck Chamber of Commerce and a member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women’s Bergen Passaic Chapter. She is also a deacon at the True Vine Christian Center.

Misha Inniss-Thompson – Promise Award:

Misha Inniss-Thompson, 18, is an active member of the Teaneck community and was recently awarded a youth certificate from the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee for Community Service. As a student at Dwight-Englewood School, Inniss-Thompson helped develop a mentoring program planned to start this year. She has been awarded the Better Chance Excellence Award in 2010 and 2011 and recognized for her academic achievements at school.

She also tutors students in the Bronx on standardized testing.

Williene “Wilma” Lloyd Dow – Lifetime Achievement Award:

Williene “Wilma” Lloyd Dow, formerly of Hackensack, was posthumously awarded the top honor for years of service and countless volunteer awards in the community. Born in Camden, South Carolina, she married James Edward Dow, Sr., and moved to Hackensack in the 1940s. Some of the honors she achieved during her 94-years included, the New Jersey State Assembly’s Volunteer Recognition Award, Recognition for her work with the Bergen County Community Action Program and the Humanitarian Award from the National Council of Negro Women.

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