The 29th annual Black Heritage Celebration is scheduled for 11 a.m. Feb. 18 at the Metro Technology Center, 1900 Springlake Drive.
The theme of this year's celebration is “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow.”
Festivities will include entertainment by the Langston University Gospel Choir, under the direction of Bonita Franklin.
The Meritorious Service Award will be presented to Jerome White, Region 3 Deputy Director of Adult and Family Services, Oklahoma Department of Human Services.
The Trailblazer Award will be presented to Ayanna Najuma, civil rights activist and leader. Najuma was 7 years old when she joined other members of the NAACP Youth Council at the lunch counter of Katz Drug Store in downtown Oklahoma City in 1958 to protest segregation.
The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to Ahmed Rashidi, the first African-American to be permanently assigned to drive the Oklahoma City Fire Department rescue squad emergency vehicle. Rashidi retired as district fire chief in 2006.
The Black Heritage Celebration is co-sponsored by the DHS Office for Civil Rights, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, the Oklahoma Historical Society and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
For more information, call Vicki Pettiford at 522-1611.
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