Vanessa Williams and Jamie Foxx Unexpected Guests at Gala
St. Louis, Mo. (July 29, 2017) — The annual Whitney M. Young Awards Gala at the National Urban League Conference packed more than its usual punch of star power last night when musical artists Vanessa Williams and Jamie Foxx surprised the crowd at the end of the evening.
“The unexpected concert was a generous gift from our Conference co-chairs, Dave Steward of World Wide Technology and Michael Neidorff of Centene,” National Urban League President and CEO Marc H. Morial said. “Both Jamie Foxx and Vanessa Williams not only are phenomenally talented entertainers, but they have been active in promoting artists of color and expanding the influence of Black entertainers at all levels of the industry. It was our honor to welcome them to our Gala.”
Foxx earned an Academy Award for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the 2004 biopic Ray - one of two Oscar nominations that year. In addition to his active acting, producing and musical career, he currently hosts and produces a game show, Beat Shazam,on the Fox network.
Williams was crowned the first Black Miss America in 1983 and went in to achieve top-10 recording success within the next few years. In addition to multiple Grammy, Emmy and Tony nominations, she's earned seven NAACP Image Awards.
Morial presented both artists with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
The surprise concerted capped off an evening of honors, including the President’s Award, presented to St. Louis music and soul food legend Robbie Montgomery and U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay Jr., and the Living Legend Award presented to former Gary, Indiana, Mayor Richard G. Hatcher, who marks the 50th anniversary of his election - along with Carl Stokes of Cleveland - as the first Black mayors of major American cities.
The Conference continues today at America’s Center with a College Fair and Back-To-School Community Day, free and open to the public.
Contact: Teresa Candori (212-558-5362 | tcandori@nul.org)
