FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser has officially proclaimed November 14, 2025, as Illuminate Your Black Brilliance Day! Urban Smart—the nonprofit arm of Ateya Productions LLC, an Edutainment Consulting Firm dedicated to elevating talented African American students in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math)—has partnered with Terk Entertainment Group, an international content powerhouse that finances, develops, and produces culturally curated stories for African Americans and the African Diaspora, to announce the highly anticipated 5th Annual Illuminate Your Black Brilliance Awards Ceremony.
Sponsored by WUSA 9 and the DC Department of Film, Television, and Entertainment (OCTFME), the Illuminate Your Black Brilliance Awards will take place on Friday, November 14, 2025, at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. Students and families from across the Washington Metropolitan Area will come together for an unforgettable day of inspiration, recognition, and celebration!The event will honor exceptional African American high school and college students, alongside living legends whose brilliance, resilience, and leadership continue to light the way for future generations. Student awardees will receive scholarships generously sponsored by Mrs. Jameela Allen and Mr. Eric Allen. The keynote address will be delivered by renowned Egyptologist and historian Baba Anthony Browder.
Created by master educator and Howard University alumna Ateya Ball-Lacy and her daughter, Nia Lacy, the Illuminate Your Black Brilliance Awards Ceremony is a powerful extension of the “HoodSmart” Project — an Urban STEMulus initiative redefining the narrative around Black youth from urban communities.
Since 2012, HoodSmart has empowered young minds through STEM symposiums, cultural arts programs, and dynamic community partnerships — all rooted in the belief that to uplift the Black community, we must first dismantle the myths and barriers that dim its brilliance.
Join us as we celebrate the excellence, creativity, and power of our youth.
RSVP: AteyaProductions.educonsulting@gmail.com WEBSITE: IlluminateBlackBrilliance.org