Senate Resolution No. 1468
BY: Senator PARKER
HONORING the Young, Gifted, & Black
Entrepreneurial Awards for its commitment to
recognizing excellence, service, and cultural
leadership, and bestowing the Lifetime Achievement
Award to Cassandra Harris Lockwood
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize and
commend institutions and initiatives that uplift communities by
celebrating excellence, service, creativity, justice, and visionary
leadership, and that affirm the enduring value of civic engagement,
cultural expression, and community stewardship; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its
long-standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to honor
the Young, Gifted, & Black Entrepreneurial Awards, upon the occasion of
its presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Community Service
and Outreach on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, recognizing a lifetime of
service and transformative impact within the Black and global community;
and
WHEREAS, Established in 2006 by founder Carl Gray, the Young,
Gifted, & Black Entrepreneurial Awards is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to recognizing and celebrating distinguished individuals of
color across the Americas, the Caribbean, and Africa, whose leadership,
perseverance, creativity, and service have made meaningful and lasting
contributions across business, education, the arts, philanthropy, and
community development, while uplifting stories of excellence that might
otherwise go unrecognized; and
WHEREAS, In furtherance of this mission, the Young, Gifted, & Black
Entrepreneurial Awards has selected Cassandra Harris Lockwood as the
recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Community Service and
Outreach, in recognition of more than five decades of visionary
leadership at the intersection of art, activism, journalism, and
grassroots community empowerment; and
WHEREAS, Born in Washington, D.C., in 1951 and raised in rural
Upstate New York, Cassandra Harris Lockwood emerged early as a leader
and advocate, attaining state-level student leadership during the
transformative social movements of the 1960s, experiences that shaped
her lifelong commitment to justice, equity, and cultural expression; and
WHEREAS, A graduate of Kirkland College with a degree in fine arts
and dance, Cassandra Harris Lockwood distinguished herself as a
trailblazer for gender equity, becoming the first female construction
worker in New York State and advancing opportunities for women in labor
during a period of entrenched institutional exclusion; and
WHEREAS, Her artistic excellence earned advanced training at the
Alvin Ailey Dance Studio, the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the George
Faison School of Dance, and during this period she further shattered
barriers as the first woman licensed to drive a Hansom cab in New York
City, reflecting courage, determination, and resilience; and
WHEREAS, Cassandra Harris Lockwood's professional career included
work on Broadway and off Broadway productions such as Raisin, Bubbling
Brown Sugar, The Wiz, and Wine in the Wilderness, while also cultivating
a multidimensional artistic practice encompassing music, playwriting,
healing arts, metaphysics, and community-centered creative expression;
and
WHEREAS, Returning to Utica, New York, in 1979, Cassandra Harris
Lockwood united her artistic vision with direct community action,
serving as Lead Organizer for Corn Hill People United and dedicating her
life to empowering individuals and families through advocacy,
self-determination, and grassroots organizing; and
WHEREAS, In 2002, she founded For The Good, Inc., a nonprofit
devoted to arts, education, and community development, and launched
Utica Phoenix, the city's first Black newspaper, creating a lasting
platform for underrepresented voices and cultural representation in
Central New York; and
WHEREAS, Through pioneering cultural productions, community
journalism, children's music, and decades of civic engagement, Cassandra
Harris Lockwood has demonstrated that culture is not merely artistic
expression, but a powerful instrument for justice, unity, healing, and
human dignity; and
WHEREAS, The Lifetime Achievement Award in Community Service and
Outreach, bestowed by the Young, Gifted, & Black Entrepreneurial Awards,
fittingly reflects the organization's commitment to honoring lives of
sustained service, cultural leadership, and community transformation;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor the Young, Gifted, & Black Entrepreneurial Awards for its
continued commitment to recognizing excellence, service, and cultural
leadership, and for bestowing the Lifetime Achievement Award in
Community Service and Outreach upon Cassandra Harris Lockwood; and be it
further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the Young, Gifted, & Black Entrepreneurial Awards, and to
Cassandra Harris Lockwood, as an expression of the highest esteem and
appreciation of this Legislative Body.
