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DC awards ceremony highlights Black excellence | Get Uplifted

The second annual Illuminate Your Black Brilliance Awards showcase high school and college students who excel in everything from the arts to engineering.

WASHINGTON — We are shining a light on a local awards ceremony in D.C. that's helping us all feel uplifted by celebrating Black excellence.

It's called the Illuminate Your Black Brilliance Award. The second annual award ceremony was held Tuesday night in the auditorium of the newly renovated Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Northwest D.C. 

Organizer and HoodSmart CEO Ateya Ball-Lacy explained the core message behind the awards night.

"We are changing the narrative of what it means to be Black in America. We are shifting the focus from the negative things that we often hear about our youth to celebrating their brilliance and their genius," she said.

The awards showcased high school and college student who excel in everything from the arts to engineering. The packed audience included younger kids who got to see first hand what that excellence looks like.

If you have something you'd like to share, email us at GetUplifted@wusa9.com or contact Allison Seymour on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Be sure to subscribe to the Get Up DC newsletter, where we'll be sharing an uplifting story every morning as well.

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