Feb. 3. The Lake Norman Chamber’s Diversity Council will present “Leadership Development for Black and Indigenous People of Color” on Thursday, Feb. 13 from noon to 1:30 pm.

The program, during Black History Month, will be held at The Ada Jenkins Center. The speaker is Dan Houston, past chair of the Diversity Council, and president of the 1750 Group. It’s sponsored by the Town of Davidson.

Dan Houston

The site of the” Lunch and Learn” is extremely significant. In the 1930’s, fire destroyed a small wooden schoolhouse in the Mock Circle area of Davidson. Despite the Great Depression and limited funding from the Mecklenburg County Board of Education, local schoolteacher Ada Jenkins rallied the community to raise enough funding to build the Davidson Colored School. It was renamed the Ada Jenkins School after her death in 1955.

RSVP: Call the Lake Norman Chamber at 704-892-1922. The event is limited to the first 35 people who register.

Quotable

“The event, in partnership with the Town of Davidson, Ada Jenkins, Legacy on the West Side, and the Chamber, will explore leadership development, professional growth, and community impact. Dan Houston is an international diversity and leadership coach and we are thrilled to have him share with our group as we celebrate the contributions of our black community.”

—Cherese Spand, 2025 chair of the Chamber’s Diversity program