Elkhart Chapter of Indiana Black Expo hosts 8th Annual Trailblazer Awards

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. --The Elkhart Chapter of Indiana Black Expo is hosting its eight Annual Trailblazer Awards tonight.

Over 130 of the top African American students in the Elkhart County will gather to be honored tonight for being the top student at their respective schools. All the students range from 4th to 12th grade.

“As a former educator myself, I also find it very important to highlight the achievements and accomplishments, especially of young African American males in particular. But to highlight that to be successful, you need to be academically successful too. We try to highlight those events with our children,” Elkhart Chapter of Indiana Black Expo Board Member Arvis Dawson said.

The Elkhart Chapter of Indiana Black Expo will honor senior Jaya Johnson with the Garvin Roberson Student Athlete Award. The award is given to a student athlete who excels in both sports and the classroom.

The award is in honor of Mayor Rod Roberson's late brother who passed away in 2022.

“It’s outstanding to recognize not only kids who are doing well academically but others in our community we try to highlight as well during Black History Month to show the achievements and accomplishments that we have made not only nationally but locally. We've done a lot locally too. We try to highlight those individuals as well,” Dawson said.

This year’s keynote speaker is Indiana's Chief Equity, Inclusion, Opportunity Officer Karrah Herring.

Dawson says she’ll talk about the importance of academics. He hopes her speech and story can inspire the kids to pursue their dreams.

“This is something that should continue to go on as we strive to make not only Elkhart but America a better place. We're going to have to diversify and be inclusive in order for us to be the great country that we continue to be,” Dawson said.