Black Lives Matter Seacoast held its first Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BI-POC) Seacoast Leaders awards ceremony on Feb. 28, a virtual gathering honoring area leaders who are people of color.

Julian Maduro, events manager for BLM Seacoast, said that other events celebrating local leaders have left out BIPOC leaders who do important work in their communities.

“This event really was born from the idea and the realization that people of color in the Seacoast aren’t being recognized enough for the great, great work that they’re doing. We saw an event that recognized Seacoast leaders, but there were no people of color on that event list, and we thought that was a real shame,” said Maduro.

In an emotional speech at the awards ceremony, keynote speaker Cordan James Haveron emphasized that the leaders being honored at the event deserve even wider recognition.

“They say seeing is believing, and from what I see, there are plenty of BIPOC leaders here tonight worthy of recognition, worthy for us to place our faith in their vision and efforts to continue to impact our communities — to impact the world,” said Haveron.

Samantha Searles, a founding member of BLM Nashua, was host for the evening. She highlighted the importance of creating a community of BIPOC leaders who can support each other and recognize one another’s successes, especially when other organizations fail to do so.

Award winners ranged from successful business owners to high school students.

This year’s winners were:

• Courtney Daniel, a creative strategist on the Seacoast who connects with the community through her online groups No To Patterns. She thanked BLM Seacoast for creating the space to recognize BIPOC leaders.

• Curtis D. Linton Jr., a mechanical engineering student at the University of New Hampshire, who works with youth on STEM projects like coding and robotics.

• Portsmouth High School student Aulia Castellano, who was nominated by her teacher Kimberly McGlinchey, who also spoke for her.

• Project D.R.E.A.M., an initiative that was begun in 2018 when Dover students banded together to make their school community a more equitable place.

• Courtney Marshall, assistant dean of advising at Phillips Exeter Academy, who helps facilitate conversations about race, gender and social issues on the PEA campus.

• Kaylee Donovan Nihart, a biracial woman and owner of The Gallery Salon in Portsmouth.

• Cathryn Czajkowski, of Korean heritage and the special collections librarian at the Portsmouth Public Library, for her work as the co-founder of the library’s Taskforce for Inclusion, examining the library’s role in the community.

• Amaya Moore, a freshman at Berwick Academy, who is working to see school curricula include African American history, starting in Maine.

• Samrawit Silva, who helped form 8 Percent Speaks at the University of New Hampshire and currently works with 350NH as an electoral climate organizer.

• Trevon Bryant, who had a promising football career until an injury ended it and later became a motivational speaker, inspiring others to make the best of what their situation brings.

Also honored was Cindy Khoury, of Asian descent, who silenced the participants as she spoke of her experiences with racism locally during the pandemic. She said she was shocked and in denial over what was happening in a local store when a clerk did not want to deal with an Asian customer.

“I know everyone was fearful and cautious, but in this store I felt people staring at me, tracking me,” said Khoury. “I knew what was going on, but I didn’t want to acknowledge it. I said this is not racial. It can’t be. But it was.”

Khoury said when she opened up to her family about the experience, her kids also recounted incidents of racism. Her advice: Speak up.

“What do you mean by that? Why would you say that? Ask the question in the sting of the moment. Humanity and kindness are the most powerful tools against racism.”

A posthumous award was presented to the family of Bruce Seals, a former NBA player who mentored many youth through the Boston Boys & Girls Club of Dorchester. His daughter Denitra Seals accepted the award on behalf of the family.

Seals, who played for the Seattle Supersonics, later settled in Boston with his family. “He became the athletic director of the Dorchester club in the early ‘90s and continued until his death last year. He had great impact on many youth, helping them to become caring adults. And he never sought any accolades for what he did.”

This article is being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.