Nassau County kicked off its 2025 Black History Month on Feb. 5 by honoring four people whose decades of dedicated social work have benefited thousands of adults and children, across the county and beyond.
Ladonna Taylor, executive director of Nassau County Youth Services, a Freeport resident, was one of those recognized, as was Stanfort Perry, executive director of AHRC Nassau and its affiliated organizations, who resides in Glen Cove.
The other two honorees base their work in Hempstead: Pastor Lynnwood Earl Deans of Bethlehem of Judea Church (83 Greenwich Street), and Hempstead Chamber of Commerce President Lashawn Lukes.
“Black Americans are a resilient people,” said Deputy County Executive Anissa Moore, who emceed the evening. “We’re holding on to the promise in America, for America is the only country that we know as home.”
Each honoree received two citations, one from the county executive’s office, and the other from the County Comptroller’s office.
Moore alternated with Runnie Myles of the Human Rights Commission and Lionel Chitty, executive director of the Nassau County Office of Minority Affairs, in reading out each honoree’s resume prior to delivering each citation.
The resumes of all four honorees reflected not only their extensive contributions to social services in Nassau County, but also their awards, citations, and doctoral degrees.
The resumes and awards all pointed to two shining qualities shared by all four honorees: their sustained concern for the needy and their determination to enact effective solutions.
Rev. Deans, who holds two theological degrees and two honorary doctorates, chose to move to Hempstead in 1993, after founding a church in Bayside. He has done constant outreach through radio broadcasts, prison visitations, and membership in the Hempstead NAACP, the Long Island Conference of Clergy, and the Hempstead cluster of the Help End Violence Now (HEVN) coalition.. Bethlehem of Judea Church also hosts Reginald Benjamin’s ABBA Leadership Program for formerly incarcerated persons.
“I am so honored and grateful to be here this evening,” said Deans. “It is the hand of God.” He credited his wife of 48 years, Diane Swindell Deans, for her own contributions to his 50-plus years as a pastor.
Hardly a mile from Bethlehem of Judea Church is 1776 Denton Green, home of the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce. The organization is led by Lashawn Lukes, whose business experience includes not only many years in media and promotions, but also multiple certifications for her outreach to prison populations, families in underserved areas, and students in grades K through 12. Her nonprofit firm, Cultivating Lives, provides career counseling, financial literacy, mentoring, and empowerment workshops.
“I have worked helping in underserved communities because sometimes I was that child that you read about,” Lukes said. “Every morning when I awake, I think, what can I accomplish today? How can I help someone else?”
The northern part of Nassau County is the location for the work of Glen Cove resident Stanfort Perry. He is executive director of the EOC AHRC Nassau Brookville, Citizens Options Unlimited, Inc., and Brookville Center for Children’s Services, directly working with over three thousand Long Islanders who have developmental disabilities, and their families. It is one of the largest disability service networks in the United States.
“I am honored tonight to accept this award on behalf of all the people that we support,” said Perry, “people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who [want to] be included for the same opportunities that you and I enjoy on a day-to-day basis.”
The hope and compassion in Perry’s words found echoes in those of Ladonna Taylor, executive director of the county Office of Youth Services since May 2022. Taylor has served at increasingly complex levels of county social work for over 30 years. She creates and fosters many programs for youth, such as gang and gun prevention workshops, the Youth Job Fair, the Girls’ Summit and the Four C’s Boys’ Conference.
“Our children are struggling with mental health, marijuana usage, and gang activity,” Taylor said. “I do this because I love to do it, and I love the kids.”
The program also included stirring songs by the Black Voices of Nassau County, comments from County Executive Bruce Blakeman, County Comptroller Elaine Phillips, and Legislators Scott Strauss and Arnold Drucker, and the lighting of the dome of the Theodore Roosevelt Legislative and Executive building with red, black, and green to commemorate the heroes of Black history. The colors will grace the dome throughout Black History Month.
