On a shimmering autumn night in Atlanta, the Omni Atlanta Resort at CNN Heart remodeled right into a constellation of magnificence, function, and Black excellence. The sixty fifth Annual Awards & Scholarship Gala — hosted by the Empire Board of Realtists, Inc., in partnership with The EREB Basis — unfolded as greater than a black-tie affair. It was a residing tribute to legacy, management, and the relentless pursuit of financial empowerment.
Friends arrived draped in satin, velvet, and sequins, transferring by way of the ballroom like a celebration in movement. However past the flicker, coronary heart and historical past crammed the room — 86 years of advocacy, group uplift, and the battle for “Democracy in Housing,” the core mission that has pushed the Empire Board since its founding.
A NIGHT FOR TRAILBLAZERS
This 12 months’s theme, “Celebrating the Journey: The place Legacy Lives and Futures Rise,” rang loud because the group honored three monumental figures whose contributions proceed to shift the panorama of actual property, financial fairness, and training.
2025 Honorees• Donahue Peebles III — Visionary Developer & Entrepreneur• John Hope Bryant — Operation HOPE Founder & Nationwide Financial Empowerment Chief• Dr. Kevin James — President, Morris Brown School & Champion for Academic Fairness
Every honoree represented a pillar of progress — growth, monetary empowerment, and academic transformation. Collectively, they shaped a triumvirate of influence, embodying the very essence of the Empire Board’s mission.
“I SEE YOU”: A MOMENT OF GRATITUDE
Among the many night’s standout voices was Marcia Johnson, representing Chase, one of many night time’s premier sponsors. Poised and radiant, she stepped to the microphone with a message that transcended ceremony.
“I see you,” she mentioned, echoing a sermon she’d heard days prior. “I see your ardour. I see your dedication. I see what you’ve constructed on this group.”
Her phrases threaded by way of the room like affirmation itself — recognizing the labor, love, and management that constructed the Empire Board’s enduring presence. She applauded the group round her, inviting members of the Chase delegation to the stage with the form of pleasure that felt like group in motion.
THE HEARTBEAT OF ADVOCACY
For Dr. Marvetta Bozeman, the Empire Board’s present president, the night time represented excess of ceremony—it was the continuation of an 87-year legacy.
“As a result of we have been African People, we weren’t in a position to be part of lots of the actual property boards,” she reminded the viewers. “So our group was shaped to verify now we have the identical rights as everybody else—and that’s the appropriate to honest and equitable housing.”
Her voice carried each reverence for historical past and a fireplace for the long run. The Empire Board’s work, she famous, isn’t episodic however endless: group outreach, coverage advocacy, skilled growth, and, every year, scholarships that gentle the trail for the following technology.
“This work is not only work for us,” she mentioned. “It’s Kingdom work.”
A FUNDRAISER THAT FUELS FUTURES
The gala, although glamorous, has all the time been rooted in function. The night served as a cornerstone fundraiser for the EREB Basis Scholarship Fund, supporting college students pursuing careers in actual property, enterprise, and group growth. It’s an funding in futures that, for a lot of, would in any other case stay out of attain.
A NIGHT OF POWER, PURPOSE & POSSIBILITY
If vitality could possibly be bottled, this night time can be priceless. Between the honorees’ riveting tales and the gang’s electrical anticipation, the Empire Board’s mission didn’t merely shine—it radiated.
Dr. Bozeman put it greatest:“We give again to the group, and we honor those that proceed the combat with us.”
As the ultimate applause echoed and the lights softened, the message remained clear:
Legacy isn’t a relic. It’s a residing, respiratory power—handed from hand at hand, technology to technology. And on the Empire Board of Realtists’ sixty fifth Annual Gala, that legacy rose increased than ever.
