CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Charleston Police Department honored six people for their community service Thursday during their annual Black History Month ceremony.
The event took place at Charleston City Hall.
Police Chief Brent Webster presented awards to Rev. Dr. Braxton Broady, Rev. Roberta Smith, Linda Ealy, the late Dr. Hazo Carter and Judge Phyllis Carter, and Elliott Roseberry.
Ealy is the wife of Rev. James Ealy, the pastor of New Life Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Charleston.
“I don’t think of myself as being anybody special. I do whatever I can do. My husband is usually the one in the lime light and I’m just in the background, so it’s quite special for me,” Ealy said.
Ealy works at the church’s community center and after school program. She also helps with the women’s group that meets at the church.
“The kids are my heart and that really means a lot to me to get up every day, to go out and think I’m making a difference,” she said.
It’s important to recognize those who serve, Ealy said, and to celebrate Black History Month around the country.
“We are indeed a proud people, an intelligent people, people full of love for our country, for our communities,” she said. “We still have a ways to go, but we’re getting there.”
Black History Month is celebrated each year during the month of February.