Sac State Celebrates Champions Of Peace And Freedom

By Norman Williams | Special to The OBSERVER African spirit, music, color, and pride set the tone Saturday evening, when local and international leaders were honored with Africa Peace Awards at a dinner banquet hosted by Sacramento State’s Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution (CAPCR).& More than 200 people attended the banquet, which capped off the final day of the CAPCR’s 32nd annual Africa and Diaspora International Conference. Dr. Ernest Uwazie, a founding director and chair of CAPCR, praised the work of the awardees.& & “The Peace Awards is truly a celebration of Black excellence; of ordinary folks doing extraordinary work in the spaces of people of African descent, at local, national and international levels,” he said. “Honoring those who do the peace and healing work was very encouraging, and it was momentous to have the chief justice of Ghana as the keynote speaker.” Dr. Kristee Haggins, executive director of Safe Black Space, received the Peace Health Award at the banquet. Her nonprofit focuses on “helping Black people heal from historical and current wounds, both individually and collectively.” From left to right, Ms. Elena Bennett, president and founder of Rwandan Educational Enrichment Inc., presents Dr. Kristee Haggins with the...