Black Excellence In Bleu Celebrates Black Legislators And Women In Positions Of Power

Illinois Speaker of the House Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Political Strategist Minyon Moore during the launch of Black Excellence in Bleu. Photo by Tara Photography.
Illinois Speaker of the House Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle and Political Strategist Minyon Moore during the launch of Black Excellence in Bleu. Photo by Tara Photography.

Black Excellence In Bleu Celebrates Black Legislators And Women In Positions Of Power

By Tia Carol Jones

Black Excellence in Blue was co-founded by Illinois Speaker of the House Emanuel "Chris" Welch, former Michigan Speaker of the House Joe Tate and TaQuoya McConnico in 2024. It was launched during the Democratic National Convention, which was hosted in Chicago.

Welch said the charitable organization was founded to shine a light on Black Excellence. At the time when Black Excellence in Bleu was founded, there were seven Black Speakers of the House across the country. 

The organization also provides an opportunity to bring awareness to other Black legislative leaders.

The Minnesota Senate President Bobby Joe Champion is the first Black legislator to hold that title in the state of Minnesota. The Speaker of the House in Delaware, Melissa Minor-Brown, is the first Black legislator to hold that title in the state of Delaware.

“These are things that organizations like Black Excellence in Bleu will allow us to focus on and highlight,” Welch said.

In March, Black Excellence in Bleu and Speaker Welch will host Women in Power. The event will take place from 1p.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, March 14th, at RPM Events, 317 N. Clark St. The Women’s History Month celebration will honor nine local women who are leaders in their fields. 

Those honorees include Justice Eileen O'Neill Burke, Justice Joy Cunningham, Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton, Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy, America Scores Executive Director Kimberly Townsend, WBA Chicago Sky Co-Owner Nadia Rawlinson, 3rd Ward Alderwoman Pat Dowell and Illinois Comptroller Susana A. Mendoza. Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun will also receive special honors. Moseley Braun was the first Black woman to serve in the United States Senate.  Welch called the list of honorees impressive.

“We have women doing some remarkable things and this is just a small way to show them recognition and honor for what they’re doing,” he said.

Welch said events like Women in Power take Black Excellence in Bleu’s mission to shine a light on Black legislative leaders even further by highlighting Black people in positions of power, by focusing on women in positions of influence and power. Welch said that this is the third time the event is taking place and each year, it gets bigger. He said that he is getting calls to inquire how a woman can be recognized during the event. He said it is an event that people look forward to every year. The first year the event took place, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the special honoree.

In December 2024, Black Excellence in Bleu raised funds and donated $50,000 to the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation for student scholarships. The money went towards helping Black students go to college. Black Excellence in Bleu is looking to expand on giving by giving to charitable organizations. Welch said the organization wants to shine a light on areas that are underserved and underrecognized that the organization believes should be uplifted. 

For more information about Black Excellence in Bleu, visit www.excellenceinbleu.org.


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