Thursday, October 1, 2026
Freeport residents, community leaders and Nassau County officials crowded into the program room of the Freeport Recreation Center on Feb. 26 to celebrate Black History Month and the contributions of the village’s own Black community members. The event was hosted by village administrators and the Freeport-Roosevelt chapter of the NAACP.
The celebration was titled “Still We Rise: A Century of Black History,” and featured presentations, musical performances and speakers. The highlight was the presentation of community Black History Month awards for notable service to communities within the Village of Freeport and beyond. The honorees were Vashti Burke, Donnetta Cumberbatch, Michael Gordon, Ladonna Taylor, Denton Watson and Bishop Frank White.
Burke, the music facilitator for the Freeport school district and a music teacher at John W. Dodd Middle School, is a graduate of Freeport High School and has lived in the village for more than 40 years. She is recognized as an innovative school leader, founded the Dodd Drama Company and has led other student performing-arts groups.
“I’m a proud member of some incredible organizations that strive to make indelible imprints on our community daily,” Burke said, thanking Freeport and the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority for their impact on her life.
Cumberbatch, a member of the Freeport Police Department, has made a significant impact on the community with her work in the department’s Community Outreach Unit, the village’s Adopt-A-Cop program, the Girls Scouts of Nassau County and more.
“I let people know, especially the younger generations, to not limit yourself,” Cumberbatch said before the event, explaining that she endeavors to be a source of inspiration, particularly for young women. “If I can be a civil servant and protect and serve, anybody who says in their mind that they want to do it can do it.”
Gordon is a lifelong Freeport resident who made village history in 2024 when he became the first Black chief of the Freeport Fire Department.
“Black History Month is personal for me,” Gordon told the Herald. “It represents resilience, perseverance and progress. Being elected the first Black chief of the Freeport Fire Department isn’t just about me, it’s about generations before me who didn’t always get the opportunity.”
Ladonna Taylor, who also grew up in Freeport, has worked in social services and youth development in the village and for Nassau County. After earning a Ph.D. in social work, she worked for Nassau County Child Protective Services before becoming vice president of the Freeport-Roosevelt Economic Opportunity Council. She described Black history as a motivating force in her career and her life.
“It drives me, commits me to be fair, to give opportunity and to unite here in Freeport,” Taylor said after receiving her award. “Giving back isn’t something I talk about — it’s something that I have been filled (with) in my family and I commit myself to do every day.”
Watson, who also gave the keynote speech, is an accomplished journalist, biographer, activist and a professor of American Studies at SUNY Old Westbury. He is a former assistant director of public relations for the NAACP under Executive Director Roy Wilkins, and wrote a biography of civil rights activist Clarence Mitchell Jr.
White has been a leader in the Freeport community for over 50 years, as bishop of the Church of God in Christ in Freeport, having inherited the leadership of the church from his late father, Bishop Frank O. White. White challenged event attendees, quoting Genesis, to be light in the midst of a dark and complex world.
“Darkness can never overcome the light, but the light will always overcome the dark,” he said. “So in the midst of this moment in our nation, I want to encourage everybody, let your light shine.”
Along with Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy and members of the village board, the attendees included State Assemblyman Noah Burroughs; the Nassau County Legislature’s alternate deputy minority leader, Debra Mulé; and Town of Hempstead Deputy Supervisor Dorothy Goosby.
The event concluded with food from Bobby Q’s Jus Like Mama’s restaurant.
