Get ready for an absolute powerhouse of an afternoon! Next week, the Eleanor Holmes Norton Legacy Fund (EHNLF), along with leaders and citizens of the District of Columbia, will roll out the red carpet for the annual scholarship luncheon fundraiser honoring D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. This year’s celebration holds special significance as it serves as a salute to the congresswoman’s retirement. Held Sunday, Oct. 25, at The Potomac Hotel, located at 1330 Maryland Ave. SW, the theme is “A living legacy is born by empowering the #NextGenWarrior.” This will be an exciting luncheon you will not want to miss!
The legacy luncheon will honor D.C. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton for a lifetime of public service as we raise money for scholarships for female students at the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law. Get tickets and make tax-deductible donations at EHNLFUND.ORG. We are standing at a historic crossroads of deep faith, incredible community triumph and pure celebration. Trust us, you will definitely want to be in the room for this one!
This year, our hearts are bursting with pride as we throw this massive celebratory tribute to our legendary leader, the Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton. After an unparalleled, trailblazing career fighting for our city on Capitol Hill, she is retiring. She has been our absolute champion, and we are going to give her the grand, roaring thank-you she so richly deserves!
As a brilliant, Yale-educated constitutional attorney, civil rights icon and former law professor, Delegate Norton’s legal brilliance has shaped the fabric of our nation. We know firsthand the depth of her incredible legacy. On a personal note, it gives me great pleasure to have worked directly with the congresswoman alongside then-Ward 1 D.C. Council member Frank Smith.
Those days were filled with unmatched momentum. D.C. Council member Frank Smith would always bring me along to our strategic planning meetings to map out the exact path to get her very first piece of legislation submitted. It was H.J. Res. 320, which she shepherded through Congress to authorize the erection of what is now a magnificent national treasure: the African American Civil War Memorial. It passed and is now law! We worked the plan, stayed faithful and got that monument done! We are so profoundly thankful for everything Delegate Norton has done for the citizens of the District of Columbia.
We were there when she began with this, her first piece of legislation, and we are certainly delighted to help celebrate this remarkable career on Capitol Hill. She represented the citizens of the District of Columbia from Jan. 3, 1991, through Jan. 3, 2027.
There is so much more, but as the author of this column, I wanted to go on record with great pride, stating that our legislation was indeed her very first piece of legislation to pass and become law!
That is exactly why this lunchtime tradition is so vital! Launched in 2018, when the Eleanor Holmes Norton Legacy Fund was founded by Linda Jefferson and Janice Davis of the D.C. Federation of Democratic Women, this spectacular event has grown into an unstoppable force for good. Over its history, we have raised tens of thousands of dollars to send brilliant, hardworking students straight to the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law. We are actively breaking down financial walls and launching a brand-new generation of public-interest lawyers who will walk in Eleanor’s historic footsteps!
EHNLF President Hazel Bland Thomas beautifully captured the spirit of this milestone, reminding us that “we are creating history every day by investing in the students who are building on Congresswoman Norton’s legacy as an activist, community leader and advocate.”
Check out these absolute highlights for this year:
• The ultimate tribute: An electric, love-filled celebration honoring Congresswoman Norton's historic legacy, her legal genius and decades of fierce advocacy for D.C.!
• Major milestone moments: Awarding life-changing scholarships to phenomenal UDC Law students so they can crush their goals debt-free!
• High-octane fellowship: High-energy praise, soulful gospel music and a beautifully prepared lunch surrounded by the best community in the District!As we look at the incredible path Congresswoman Norton has paved for our future lawyers, we are reminded of this perfect, timeless truth from Maya Angelou:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Our hearts are completely anchored in the Word, and we are standing tall on these powerful scriptures as we march forward in victory:
• Galatians 6:9 (KJV): "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
• Proverbs 31:8-9 (KJV): "Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction. Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy."This is our time, this is our community, and it is going to be an absolutely unforgettable, joyous celebration! You do not want to miss a single second of this momentum! See you on Oct. 25!
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, go to her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on X @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.
