Giving People Their Flowers: The Purpose Behind Worcester’s Honoring Black Excellence Celebration
WORCESTER, MA — Some of the people Dianne Langford James wanted to honor tried to talk her out of it.
They were already doing the work, she told me. Recognition wasn’t what they were looking for. When she approached this year’s Honoring Black Excellence honorees, their response was essentially: Thank you, Dianne, but it’s okay.
To her, letting their contributions pass without acknowledgment was not okay.
“So they’re not doing it for acknowledgement, but we’re going to acknowledge those that are doing it,” she said.
That determination helps explain the gathering she is preparing for on Oct. 2. The second annual Honoring Black Excellence Celebration will bring guests to the AC Hotel Worcester to recognize three leaders whose work reaches classrooms, health care settings and the city’s fire service.
The celebration is sold out. In announcing that milestone, Langford James thanked the sponsors, partners, committee members, supporters and guests who helped make it possible.
When we spoke before that announcement, she kept returning to the people behind the recognition: those whose contributions deserve to be remembered, those still doing the work and young people who need to see where their own lives might lead.
“It’s like, let’s give people their flowers while they’re here,” she said.
Knowing the work behind the name
Langford James began our conversation by describing something familiar in community life. People may recognize someone’s name without knowing much about the work that person does or the doors they have opened for others.
“Some people might know you, but they don’t know you,” she said.
She wants the celebration to help close that distance.
For her, acknowledging someone means telling their story while they can help tell it themselves. It means making a record of contributions that might otherwise live only in the memories of the people who experienced them.
“We’re creating written history where we’re going to tell our stories ourselves about who the individuals are,” she told me.
When I asked how the committee selects its honorees, she described a growing list of roughly 40 names and a focus on people whose service is consistent. She is looking for those who open opportunities for others, including people whose efforts receive little public attention.
“People will pick for us who they think our leaders are,” she said.
The committee’s work begins with looking closely at who is already serving the community.
What young people can see
This year, that recognition will go to Sean M. Harris, Dr. Crista Johnson-Agbakwu and Deputy Fire Chief William Mosley.
In the organizers’ announcement, Harris, director of community engagement at Quinsigamond Community College, is recognized for building partnerships and expanding opportunities in education, workforce development and community engagement.
Johnson-Agbakwu, a physician, professor and health equity leader at UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial Health, is being honored for work advancing reproductive health, culturally responsive care and access to care for women and migrant communities.
Mosley, of the Worcester Fire Department, is being recognized for more than two decades of service, including mentorship and firefighter readiness. Organizers also point to his role as IAFF Local 1009’s first president of color.
As Langford James talked about the three honorees, she connected their accomplishments to the young people who might see something of themselves in those stories. A career in medicine. A life in public service. A role helping others find educational opportunities.
I asked what she would say to a young Black person in Worcester who is unsure whether the future they imagine is within reach.
“Because you can talk about it all you want to, maybe even read about it,” she said. “But when you see it, then you know that you know that you know that it is possible.”
That belief runs through the celebration’s theme: “Honoring yesterday. Empowering today. Inspiring tomorrow.”
The people being recognized have their own accomplishments. Langford James also sees them as part of a longer story, shaped by people who came before them and capable of influencing those who follow.
“More than a celebration, Honoring Black Excellence is an investment in our future,” she said in the event announcement. “By honoring our past, recognizing the impact of today’s leaders, and planting seeds of hope, leadership, and possibility in the hearts of our youth, we are building a lasting legacy. Excellence is not just about personal achievement; it is about opening doors, creating opportunities, lifting others, and leaving the next generation with a stronger foundation than the one we inherited.”
Bringing people together
That connection between generations will be visible during the awards presentation. Inaugural honorees Deb Hall, CEO of YWCA Central Massachusetts, and David Connell, president and CEO of the YMCA of Central Massachusetts, are scheduled to return to present awards to this year’s recipients.
The announced program also includes a keynote address by Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell and a musical performance by Angelo Gray.
Langford James described the gathering in a more familiar way.
“It’s almost like a family reunion,” she said.
She talked about sharing a meal, hearing music, dancing and spending time together. Joy has a place in the evening alongside recognition and remembrance.
When I asked what made her proud of Worcester’s Black community, she spoke about the progress people have made while tending to their families, education, careers and responsibilities. She also spoke about what could happen when those individual efforts come together.
“We’ve been handling our businesses, right? Handling our business,” she said. “But now for us to come together, we will be unstoppable.”
The celebration takes place Friday, Oct. 2, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the AC Hotel Worcester, 125 Front St. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the program begins at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are sold out, according to Langford James’s recent announcement.
During our conversation, I asked her to explain what Black excellence means to her. Her answer came back to how people contribute over time: being dependable, being reliable and continuing to do the work.
Those are the qualities she wants acknowledged in public. They are also the qualities she hopes young people will recognize as something they can carry forward.
“When we celebrate Black excellence, actually everybody wins,” she said.
W.U.W. Verification Box
Project / Topic: Dianne Langford James and Worcester’s second annual Honoring Black Excellence Celebration.
Current Status: The event is sold out, according to Langford James’s announcement provided to What’s Up Worcester.
Key Dates or Decisions: Friday, Oct. 2, 2026, from 6 to 10 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m.; the program begins at 6:30 p.m.
Estimated Cost: Event production costs were not provided. Tickets are sold out.
Timeline: Organizers issued the announcement Aug. 25. Reanna Filmore’s interview took place before the subsequent sold-out announcement.
Immediate Next Steps: The celebration is scheduled to take place at the AC Hotel Worcester, 125 Front St., honoring Sean M. Harris, Dr. Crista Johnson-Agbakwu and Deputy Fire Chief William Mosley.
Primary Sources: Reanna Filmore’s interview with Dianne Langford James; the organizer-provided event announcement; and Langford James’s sold-out announcement supplied to WUW.
What We Do Not Yet Know: Whether organizers will offer a waitlist or release additional tickets. Neither was confirmed in the supplied materials.
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