Black History Committee honors Valley residents at awards gala

February is known as Black History Month.

Saturday, local black history officials hosted an event for Coachella Valley residents to honor members of the community.

More than 140 people gathered at the Palm Springs Hilton for the 8th annual Palm Springs Black History Committee’s Awards Gala.

Organizers like Palm Springs Black History Committee President Jarvis Crawford said the event not only highlights African-American history, but also honors Coachella Valley residents for their work and contributions to the community.

“Because you don’t get much of the black history in school, this is our chance to say, ‘Hey, you know what? There’s a little bit more facts that you should know about,” Crawford said. “And at the same time, we can honor folks here in our own Valley. Not only African-Americans, because a few recipients aren’t African-American.”

Crawford said some of the people honored Saturday included corporate sponsors, teachers and police officers.