The Community Empowerment Fund is hosting the Share the Love: Art Show and Celebration of Black Queens in Our Community event on Feb. 25 to recognize Black women leaders in the community.
Six Black women leaders from the Orange and Durham counties area will be introduced and then "crowned" as queens for their contributions. Local artists will also present their work.
The event will take place from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Carrboro Century Center.
This is the event's second year. Event organizer Yvette Mathews came up with the idea in 2022. She said the women to be crowned have done their part for the community and deserve to be appreciated.
“There's a lot going on in our community right now, and there has been for quite some time, but that doesn't stop us from recognizing excellence, it doesn't stop us from recognizing power, it doesn't stop us from recognizing positions that a lot of Black women are holding," Mathews said.
Last year’s queens were U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee, Carrboro Town Council member Barbara Foushee, Chapel Hill Town Council member Paris Miller-Foushee, First Lady of the First Baptist Church of Chapel Hill Kristal Coleman, CEF Executive Director Donna Carrington and EmPOWERment Inc. Executive Director Delores Bailey.
The 2022 queens nominated this year's queens and will introduce them on Saturday. The women nominated come from a variety of fields and services, including education, entrepreneurship and advocacy.
Barbara Foushee said she chose to nominate someone who reminds her of her own efforts to bring a Black woman’s perspective to the community.
“I just think about how that woman's voice has grown over the years,” she said. “I've seen her in certain spaces and how she just continues to show up and a voice just gets stronger and stronger.”