*Black History Month is always filled with events acknowledging and celebrating Blacks and the contributions we have made throughout history, and now that Black History month has come and gone, this year was no different, as the month was filled with various events.
GreenLight Women contributed to the Black History celebration on Sunday, February 23, with a champagne brunch at the London Hotel in West Hollywood, to recognize and celebrate two phenomenal women who pioneered and blazed the trail for woman in the journalism field: Jayne Kennedy and Regina Jones.
The room was filled, and the event was sold out. Most of the attendees were women over 40, which was appropriate since GreenLight Women is a group of professionals who advocate for women over 40 in the media and journalism field. Their mission is, “To fight ageism, promote diversity, and provide mentorship to ensure women over 40 have the opportunities and representation they deserve.” If you would like to learn more about GreenLight Women and the wonderful work they do, visit their website at www.greenlightwomen.org.
The warmup to the program began with a red-carpet photo op and then a buffet that included various breakfast foods, fruit, coffee, tea, and juices. While people were eating, a saxophonist, J. Boykin, went table to table, working the room. If the table presented a photo op, he lingered a tad longer to allow for it.
Actress Erica Gimpel, Coco Hernandez from the Fame TV series, was the host and began the program with a welcome, which was followed by an acknowledgement of the events three sponsors, a video retrospective of the Los Angeles neighborhood of Altadena, one of the areas devastated by the recent wildfires. Wildfire victims were given tickets to attend, and they were recognized, as were other special guests.
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The first honoree was Regina Jones, Editor-in-Chief of Soul Newspaper, who received the Trailblazer Award. Her and her husband, Ken Jones, founded Soul Newspaper, a pioneering publication that showcased Blacks in music, when no other publication was showing Blacks any love. Although Ms. Jones said her husband was the visionary, and Soul was born out of necessity from the 1965 Watts Riot, and she was the implementer, she became the head of the newspaper in what she termed a “bloodless coop,” after her husband moved on to become a TV reporter. Ms. Jones’ story was so inspiring. She got married at 15 and had five children by the age of 21: four of them by age 19. With the help of her mother, she was able to raise her children and helm a newspaper. In 1982, Soul Newspaper was discontinued, and Ms. Jones became a successful publicist. In the 1980s, she wrote what she calls a “self-healing book,” called ‘Pieces of My Life.” Ms. Jones is an 82-year-old spark plug who regaled us of stories about her newspaper and publicist days, including her dealings with the FBI. She said she mentioned to someone that at her age, she has no filter, and they responded she never had one. We saw a clip of her documentary, “Who the Hell is Regina Jones?” She is looking for a distributor for the film, in hopes of being able to leave something to her family, saying she has no money. A spark plug and no filter…or a case of a closed mouth not getting fed…you can decide.
Jayne Kennedy received the Pioneer Award, which was fitting because she was the first Black Miss Ohio, the first Black to place in the top 10 in the Miss USA pageant, and the first Black female to host a sports show, The NFL Today, which she co-hosted from 1978-1980 with Brent Musburger and the late Irv Cross. Jayne recalled the story of how she landed the NFL Today job. She asked her agent multiple times to submit her for the job, but he would not. After several tries with her agent, she decided to bypass him, and after going through a who knows who saga, and after the job had not been filled after three rounds of interviews, Jayne got an interview. After 15 interviews, and Brent Musburger saying it is Jayne or nobody, Jayne Kennedy became the newest member of, and the first Black woman on the The NFL Today team. She said the players did not want to be interviewed until they found out that Jayne Kennedy was doing the interview. She said they enjoyed being interviewed by her because she connected with them. I am pretty sure the fact that she was drop dead gorgeous had something to do with it, too. 🙂 Ms. Kennedy also spoke of the challenges of being an actress during the 1970s, and how although there were roles for Black male actors, there were not many roles for Black females. Although now in her early seventies, Jayne Kennedy is still beautiful. Jayne Kennedy has written her memoir: “Plain Jayne,” which will be released on September 2, 2025.
Los Angeles radio personality, Dominique DiPrima from Tavis Smiley’s KBLA Talk 1580 moderated a discussion between her, Regina Jones, and Jayne Kennedy.
Ms. DiPrima was a fitting choice, considering she is a woman over forty, and the first and only Black woman to host a Los Angeles radio show during peak hours.
It was such a privilege to be in a space filled with positive, beautiful, and professional women over forty. Hearing Jayne Kennedy and Regina Jones’ stories of how they persevered and blazed the trail for others to follow was empowering, and I am glad to see they were given their flowers while they could smell them.
It was also pretty cool that Jayne’s daughters were present to see their mother celebrated, since her career had slowed down and she was a soccer mom instead of a working mom who was often away.
I spent an afternoon where women over forty were celebrated instead of denigrated, and it was all love. You could feel the positive energy moving through the room. I am already looking forward to next time.
Marilyn Smith is a Los Angeles based writer/reviewer. Contact her via [email protected]
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Trailblazers in Media and Culture: Jayne Kennedy and Regina Jones to be Honored at GreenLight Women Black History Month Event
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