Antioch will honor local trailblazers on Thursday at its first-ever Black History Month closing ceremony, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Delta Bay Community Church.
The event will honor civil rights activists Willie Mims and Frances Green, County Supervisor Federal Glover, Shaman Wright, founder of Bridge Builders of the New Generation, as well as the late Regigie Moore, first Black Antioch councilman, and the late Dietra King, a business leader and founder of Hearts Realty and Dad’s BBQ.
Antioch was predominately White until the mid-1990s and now is the second most racially diverse city in the Bay Area, with 2 % of its residents Black. With a majority Black council, it also is home to the Bay Area’s largest concentration of Black Americans with advanced degrees, according to Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe, who is Black but was raised by Hispanic parents.
The event will celebrate the Black community’s culture and those who blazed a trail for Antioch’s burgeoning Black community, according to a news release from the mayor’s office
The Delta Bay Community Church is at 1020 E. Tregallas Road. The event is open to the public.
Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal Glover is one of several who will be honored at a cereomny Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Anitoch. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)