Carrying the Baton Together: Emijah Smith Honors Grassroots Leadership at Excellence in Advocacy 2026
Nearly a hundred Black women, community leaders, elders, and youth recently gathered at the Mount Baker Community Club for Excellence in Advocacy 2026. The event was a moving convergence dedicated to honoring grassroots service, intergenerational solidarity, and building long-term political power.
From holistic care like acupuncture and sound baths to strategic legislative discussions, Excellence In Advocacy exemplified how sustainable activism requires both community healing and organized action.
Receiving Their Flowers: Grounded Grassroots Leadership
Organized by community leader Emijah Smith, the gathering arose from her commitment to recognize the unsung heroines who pour into their neighborhoods every single day.
"Too often, people who do hard work and give back to the community... they're leaders amongst the everyday people. And being acknowledged and being honored for their service is imperative," Smith said.
Excellence In Advocacy made a point to select choice honorees making a particular impact within communities. Smith emphasized that the honoree selection process prioritized unwavering local presence.
"They weren't some people that got a title, got some money, and then left the community. They are in the community every day with us,” she said. Referring to figures like Elder Dawn Mason, community organizer Mary Smith, and Rev. Harriet Walden, Smith called them "walking institutions that I want to make sure that they're receiving their flowers while they're here."
The Unstoppable Power of Black Women
Jackie Vaughn, Executive Director of Black Women Empowerment for Life and Liberation (BWELL), reflected on the undeniable energy and strategic depth present in the room.
"We are celebrating and honoring and giving flowers to those who if they had not done the work that they did here in Seattle and in Washington state, we would not be here today," she said.
Vaughn pointed to West African principles and the event’s transformative atmosphere.
"Today was a true representation of Sankofa... We had an intergenerational room of young people, elders, people in between, and babies who were watching all in this room today to see what we are going to do as Black women to build political power,” she said.
Carrying the Baton Together
Community organizer Mary Flowers highlighted Excellence In Advocacy as a rare opportunity for Black women to lay down the immense weight they carry daily.
"Black women, we carry so much weight, so much weight of the whole community... Every now and then, we need to stop and we need to just think about our own health and our own well-being,” she said. “I feel like everything's been lifted off our shoulders today.”
Reframing the traditional concept of generational transition, Flowers called for continuous collective work.
"It's important for our young people, our children to be leading and working, our elders to be leading and working. So, I don't say it's a passing of the baton; it's the carrying the baton together,” she said.
Ancestral Dreams and Eternal Legacies
Civil rights icon Elder Dawn Mason offered moving reflections on history, legacy, and the generational relay race of justice.
"We know that in this journey, it has been a long one—many, many centuries. This room is our ancestors' wildest dream. They prayed for us. We've been paid for," Elder Mason said.
From Inspiration to Collective Power
As Smith made clear, the Excellence in Advocacy gathering is not merely a celebration, but a launching pad for continuous legislative and grassroots action.
"There are not a lot of words to explain it, but it was magical... the fact that we poured into each other to make this event happen," Smith said. "It's one thing to celebrate each other. That's great, but we still want to get in and do the work... How do we do this together? And how do we wield our power for good?"
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