The Plant City Black Heritage Celebration, Inc. held it's 14th annual Black Heritage Banquet Friday at the Trinkle Center.
The theme this year was "Empowering Black America" and featured performances from an array of young, Plant City talent at various stages of their careers. It was also the first time the event held the LEAD Contest. LEAD stands for learn, empower, advocate and dream. Three winners each from elementary school, middle school and high school were selected. The contest challenged students to create an artistic interpretation of how he or she has been inspired by a local black leader. The nine winners each received a $500 scholarship, computer tablet with accessories, a book collection from Scholastic and memorabilia from the Tampa Yankees.
Keynote speaker and former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Frank Murphy highlighted the evening's event with an impassioned, gospel-like speech about the imoirtance of personal choice and focus in the face of adversity.
"Don't blame anyone else for your failure or success," Murphy said. "Don't blame your circumstance. God will make your enemies your footstool."
Contact Daniel Figueroa IV at dfigueroa@plantcityobserver.com.