Pinellas County Urban League Hosts Annual Soirée

ST. PETERSBURG (Oct. 30, 2023) - The Pinellas County Urban League (St. Petersburg, FL) held a soirée.

The Sankofa Soirée, also known as the Urban League’s annual Equal Opportunity Day Gala, was held on October 14th at the Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park.

The gala, in its 46th year, marked a historic moment as Nikki Gaskin-Capehart became the first woman to lead the Urban League.

During the gala, community leader Carl Lavender and the City of St. Petersburg's Public Information Officer Erica Riggins served as the hosts, and Nikki Gaskin-Capehart was introduced as the new leader of the Urban League.

Gaskin-Capehart expressed her gratitude for the opportunity and explained the significance of the evening's theme, "Sankofa Soirée," drawing on the Twi language of Ghana, where "Sankofa" means "to retrieve" or "go back and get."

She emphasized the importance of honoring the past, treasuring the present, and shaping the future, quoting community leader Mrs. Gwendolyn Reese and recognizing those who exemplify qualities of compassion, servant leadership, respect, and advocacy, like the late Rev. Watson Haynes.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that this is a divine assignment, and I will approach it as such with passion, power and purpose,” Gaskin-Capehart said. “My generation, during this time, we are the intergenerational core, and we must work diligently as agents of change to achieve economic equity and social justice.”

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