Delaware County honors community leaders at second annual Black History Month celebration

Delaware County Council on Thursday hosted its second annual Black History Month celebration at a Philadelphia Union venue, honoring community leaders and organizations and highlighting local efforts on youth services, public safety and historic preservation.

Dr. Monica Taylor, chair of the Delaware County Council, opened the program, thanking county staff across departments and saying, “I am excited and honored to welcome you to Delaware County's second annual Black History Month celebration.” The event included a keynote from Magisterial District Judge Wilden Horace Davis, presentations to multiple honorees and several community updates announced from the stage.

The county emphasized youth programming and education throughout the program. Judge Wilden Horace Davis used his keynote to place local judicial service in historical context, citing past leaders such as Thurgood Marshall and noting the contributions of local judges who were “trailblazers” in Delaware County. Davis closed his remarks by quoting Cornel West: “justice looks like what love looks like in public.”

Organizers presented awards to a range of honorees. Among them, Corey Long, executive director of the nonprofit Making a Change (Team MAC), was recognized for community service and labor; he told the audience that Team MAC, coordinating with social services, neighborhood groups and law enforcement, “has assisted in a 63% decrease in Chester City's murder rate since 2020.” Long also thanked partners and sponsors and called attention to local reentry work.

Paul Johnson, noted as Prospect Park Borough’s first African American elected official and chair of the Delaware County Interactive Gaming Revenue Authority, received an elected-official award and used his remarks to stress the role of representation and organized labor in expanding middle-class opportunities. Eleanor Jean Henley, founder of Teen Shop Incorporated, described a four-decade effort that the program says has produced a 100% college-acceptance rate for participating girls and highlighted mentoring and exposure to college as core strategies.

Diamond Gibbs, a juvenile justice specialist and youth advocate, announced a countywide initiative she said she has developed for more than two years. “I do want to formally announce the launch of a countywide initiative called The Only Pipeline,” Gibbs said; she described it as programming aimed at reducing young people’s risk of entering the carceral system through recreational, educational and diversionary services. Gibbs said the initiative targets Black, Brown and marginalized youth but provided no funding or implementation timeline during the remarks.

Officials also honored the Nile Swim Club of Yaden, an African American–founded swim club that organizers say opened to the public July 11, 1959, after being organized in 1957. A representative accepting the award for the club described efforts to expand swim instruction and to revitalize on-site tennis courts. The representative said, “64 percent of African American children have limited to no swimming ability,” and noted a 2021 roadside historical marker installed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission recognizing the club’s history.

The program included student artwork curated across county libraries and an announcement that Delaware County libraries will donate books tied to each honoree’s field. The ceremony closed with remarks from Vice Chair Richard Womack and photos with honorees.

Event organizers and speakers offered examples of local programs and claimed impacts; in most cases speakers described partnerships and community work while declining to provide specific budget or operational details during the celebration. Several honorees and presenters called for continued investment in youth programming, greater representation in public-sector work and sustained community partnerships as next steps.