*(Los Angeles, CA) — The L.A. Focus‘ 25th Annual First Ladies High Tea was a splendid affair celebrating its 25th Years Silver Jubilee. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass made caring remarks to the sold-out event honoring Grammy-Winner Yolanda Adams, Gospel singer, actress, and National syndicated radio host, with the Legacy Award, L.A. Supervisor Holly Mitchell with the Spirit Award for Community Service Award, and Tony Waller of Walmart with the Focus Award.
The First Ladies’ honorees: Florence Boyd of First A.M.E. Church, Patricia Monroe of Redeemer Baptist Church, Pastor Themebekila Coleman-Smart of Christ Liberation Ministries, and Angel Price, Crenshaw Christian Center, were honored for their service to the community and the work they do in their respective churches.
This year’s co-hosts were Actress Wendy Raquel Robinson (The Game, Insecure, Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story) and First Lady and KBLA/Talk Radio Personality Dr. Shalonda Crawford. Also in attendance were Erica (Mary Mary) Campbell, and Congressmember Sydney Kamlager-Dove, L.A. City Councilmembers Curren Price, Heather Hutt, LADWP Chair Cynthia McClain-Hill, and Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor.
Gospel legend Tramaine Hawkins gave a dynamic performance at the tea, and another of the afternoon’s highlights was the announcement of the winners of the L.A. Focus Annual Essay Contest. Open to girls 16-18, ten winners received monetary awards to be used to further their education. This year’s essay theme was “Faith Over Fear: Unleash Your Potential.”
The afternoon tea was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA. 700+ plus attendees, dressed in their Sunday best attire adorned with fascinators or hats as they were served a traditional afternoon tea menu.
Sponsors included the County of Los Angeles, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the Black Leadership AIDS Crisis Coalition (BLACC), the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, Walmart, the California Library’s Stop The Hate Initiative, L.A. Dodgers, D3 Entertainment, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, L.A. City Councilmembers Curren Price and Heather Hutt, Assemblymember Chris Holden, Mark Ridley Thomas Committee for a Better L.A. Also supporting the event with door prizes were Target, the L.A. Clippers, and Truxton American Bistro.
About First Ladies High Tea
Founded in 1998, this afternoon tea is a red-carpet affair for the Who’s Who of women in the church and the Black community, featuring celebrity guests, community leaders, and honorees that has become an annual tradition. In the twenty-plus years since its inception, the tea has served to inspire women, both young and old, to join forces and create a movement of service towards each other, the communities in which they live, and God while also providing scholarships to at-risk youth and galvanizing the faith community around critical issues that are impacting it. Past honorees include U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, former California First Lady Maria Shriver, Oscar Nominee Cicely Tyson, former LA County Supervisor Yvonne Burke, renowned vocalist Nancy Wilson, gospel recording duo Mary Mary, TV One founder Cathy Hughes, actor/activist Hill Harper and, to name a few.
About L.A. Focus and Lisa Collins
Founded in 1995, L.A. Focus Newspaper–which boasts a readership of 120,000+ provides coverage that mirrors the concerns and issues facing the African American community, reflecting the importance of the church as both its heart and cornerstone. In addition to traditional circulation stops, L.A. Focus gets to the heart of the African American Community via its strongest institution: the church, with distribution in more than 350 churches.
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