BECO CULTURAL ICON AWARD IS PRESENTED TO DR. MAXINE MIMMS

The Black Eco Chamber is proud to have presented our first Cultural Icon Award at our inaugural BECO EXPO to the legendary Dr. Maxine Mimms.

This award is reserved for those that have a special and unique place in the history of our culture here in The Pacific Northwest.

The few pioneers that have bravely walked a path littered with every imaginable obstacle designed to destroy their calling and ultimate contribution. This award is for those that have willfully given their knowledge, wisdom, resources and soul to their community in the hopes that the others they serve may prosper. This award is for those that moved on creative impulse regardless of whether or not any return on such investment could ever be had.

Dr. Maxine Mimms is that and so much more. Her role and essence in our community is reflected in all of us who stand in the spirit of soulful excellence. The roots of her tree are that of a massive a wild fig tree found in South Africa located at The Echo Caves in Mpumalanga. This fig tree has the largest recorded roots in this world’s history reaching a depth of over 400 feet. This is the legacy of Dr. Maxine Mimms. Her depth and reach of who she’s touched has spanned from being an executive administrator in the White House, to her rich friendships with the likes of Maya Angelou and Cecily Tyson.

Her fingerprint rests on the breastplate of many figures including presidents, governors, congressmen/women, pastors, actors like Danny Glover, and artists like Ashford and Simpson. She’s served as a catalyst in the education experience teaching the likes of Jimi Hendrix and, yes even our BECO founder, Shyan Selah.

Dr. Maxine Mimms stands next to The great Mary McLeod Bethune of Bethune-Cookman as the only black woman to found a College by her establishing Evergreen State College in Tacoma, Wa. Dr. Mimms’ legacy also permeates in our most vulnerable sector of society. When she founded the Dr. Maxine Mimms Academy for Suspended and Expelled Youth, she changed the standard and dynamic for how outreach should be displayed.

Dr. Mimms, we at BECO hereby decree you as a Cultural Icon and we collectively celebrate your honor and thank you for loving, teaching, leading and nurturing us all. You are the GodMother. May peace and blessings surround you and your descendants forever.