WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 09, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — UNCF President and chief executive officer Dr. Michael L. Lomax recently received the Andrew Jackson Young Lifetime Achievement Award from 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc.
The award celebrates those who have achieved an unparalleled level of success and created a positive impact on the community by giving back and representing a group of underrepresented people.
“Ambassador Andrew Jackson Young is an iconic leader and longtime member of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta,” said Milton H. Jones, Jr., chair of UNCF’s Board of Directors, treasurer and a national board member of the 100 Black Men of America and former board chairman of the 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc. “It is indeed a pleasure to see another great leader, Dr. Michael Lomax, recognized with this well-deserved award for the outstanding difference he has made in the lives of thousands of students and their families. He has built and continues to grow a tremendous legacy of achievement through his great work as president and CEO of UNCF.”
100 Black Men of Atlanta is one of eight 100 Black Men organizations based in cities around the nation. Together, these organizations create 100 Black Men of America, headquartered in Atlanta, which now has more than 100 chapters worldwide—with more than 10,000 members. 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc., has grown to become one of the largest chapters in the country, with over 200 members.
At 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc.’s annual gala on Oct. 5, more than 900 government, corporate, education and community leaders attended at the Omni Hotel.
A videotaped message from former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and civil rights leader Andrew Young was shared congratulating Lomax for receiving the award in his name and saluting him for his lifetime achievement.
“It was a true honor to receive the Andrew Jackson Young Lifetime Achievement Award from 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc.,” said Lomax. “For nearly half a century, Ambassador Young has dedicated his life to advancing the social, political and economic rights of oppressed communities worldwide. As a steadfast supporter of UNCF, he has championed education and opportunity for generations and receiving this award in his name was deeply meaningful.”
This year marks Lomax’s 20th anniversary as UNCF president and CEO. Under his leadership, UNCF has raised more than $3 billion and helped more than 300,000 students, many of whom are first-generation college students who come from low-income communities, earn college degrees and launch careers.
Annually, UNCF’s work enables 50,000 students to go to and through college at its 37-member historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Lomax also oversees the organization’s 400-plus scholarship programs, which award more than 12,000 scholarships a year, totaling about $70 million. Lomax also launched UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building, which supports member HBCUs to become stronger, more effective and self-sustaining.
One of the nation’s foremost thought-leaders on HBCUs and higher education, Lomax has led UNCF in its efforts to engineer partnerships with reform-focused leaders and organizations and worked to further advance HBCUs with Congress, the administration and the Department of Education.
In 1986, Atlanta-based entrepreneur Nathaniel R. Goldston, III, assembled 18 of his friends and associates together to share the vision of starting a community empowerment organization that would focus on Atlanta’s underprivileged youth. Goldston, who had been exposed to a similar concept during a business meeting in New York, called One Hundred Black Men of New York, aptly named the newly formed coalition 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc.
About UNCF
UNCF (United Negro College Fund) is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization. To serve youth, the community and the nation, UNCF supports students’ education and development through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens its 37 member colleges and universities and advocates for the importance of minority education and college readiness. While totaling only 3% of all colleges and universities, UNCF institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities are highly effective, awarding 15% of bachelor’s degrees, 5% of master’s degrees, 10% of doctoral degrees and 19% of all STEM degrees earned by Black students in higher education. UNCF administers more than 400 programs, including scholarship, internship and fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment and curriculum and faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 50,000 students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in education and its widely recognized trademark is ‟A mind is a terrible thing to waste.”® Learn more at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news, follow UNCF on X (formerly Twitter) at @UNCF.
About 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc.
The vision of 100 Black Men of Atlanta, Inc. is to become the city’s strongest, most self-reliant African American volunteer organization focused on education, enrichment and empowerment. A nonprofit organization, the 100 provides college preparatory services and mentorship to at-risk Atlanta youth. Civic-minded members dedicate their time and talent as mentors to help boys and girls break the cycles of poverty, under-achievement and violence that plague their communities, thus enabling them to seek their highest potential. Since its inception in 1986, 100% of the students who complete Project Success, the organization’s flagship program, have graduated from high school and 80% have graduated from college in four years, far outpacing the national averages. Project Success is a nationally recognized post-secondary preparation, tuition assistance and mentoring program for Atlanta Public Schools (APS) students whereby the 100 Black Men of Atlanta provides tuition-assistance scholarships for all Project Success students who graduate from high school. For more info: https://100blackmen-atlanta.org.
