On Feb. 1, the United Negro College Fund hosted its inaugural “A Mind Is….” Gala to raise money to support students at local historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in North Carolina and high school seniors from Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools.
The organization hosts these galas nationwide, including in New York, Houston, and Washington, D.C.
With a goal of raising $250,000 for students, the event honored five deserving leaders from the
Triad Area: NBA All-Star and Olympian Chris Paul, philanthropist Willie Kennedy, medical leader Dr. Henry W.B. Smith III, former chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University, Harold Martin Sr., and his wife, Davida Wagner Martin.“As an education major, someone who wants to be a teacher, a principal, a superintendent one day,” said Daria Couther, a Bennett College student and UNCF scholarship recipient. “It just continues to inspire me, and to continue to keep going and not leave the education field at all.”
Martin stressed the importance of the gala, saying, “Education is a civil right.”
Last year, UNCF raised $3 million for North Carolina students last year. Attendees connected with community leaders and heard inspiring stories from students, and experience an unforgettable evening.
Paul, who currently plays for the San Antonio Spurs, grew up in the Lewisville community with his older brother Charles.
The NBA star earned the nickname “CP3” because he shared the same initials as his father and brother. He was particularly close to his grandfather, Nathaniel “Papa” Jones, who owned a gas station where Paul spent much of his childhood working. He later played basketball at Wake Forest.
Paul’s 2023 book, Sixty-One, reflects on the life lessons he learned from his late grandfather. The title is a tribute to Jones’s age at the time of his untimely death and the number of points Paul scored in his honor during a high school game that took place after his funeral.
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