The Black Leadership Council for Excellence (BLCE) has been a part of the Charles County community since 1989.  The group was formed by county residents Bonnetta Adeeb, Gwendolyn Buggs and Reuben Collins, who is now a Charles County Commissioner. Though the group started as a means to fill a need for blacks and other minorities in Charles County to organize and network, in a way that was not being provided at the time.

 
 
 
 
 
 Commissioner Reuben Collins

As with all forward-thinking organizations, it has morphed into a place that has kept pace with the growing multiculturalism of Waldorf, in particular, it now offers programs and festivals that encourage good health, a sense of community with a focus on youth programs to cultivate understanding in a county that is growing in population and diversity. 

The BLCE website announces that, “The mission of the Black Leadership Council for Excellence is to empower youth and community organizations by providing technical assistance in the areas of education, health, culture and civic participation.” 

Mary J. Williams, Youth Program Director for BLCE, explained that the organization’s name gets in the way sometimes because it isn’t just for black people.  All races are welcome to join in the activities and in fact try to find ways to make the county residents aware of all of the wonderful cultural aspects of its many residents.

“We are very involved in the community.  Our programs are designed for community involvement.”
The multicultural aspect of the program has helped many youths in the county to learn how to respect each other and participate, and be more responsible to the community, all the while learning leadership skills.  Sometimes teenagers are considered a bit of a nuisance, but for Williams they are full of potential and her favorite group to work with.

“I love working with the teenagers.  They are intelligent and sincere and want to do something positive.  We try to provide that for them,” Williams told The Bay Net.

The BLCE facilitates many programs for area youths such as the Young Researchers Community Project (YRCP), which primarily focuses on health outreach like convincing other teens not to smoke.  Also, Expanding Horizons, which their statement says it best:

“The Mission of Expanding Horizons is to increase the awareness of all cultures and allow ethnic groups to enhance their social and academic development. Our focus is not only on the growth of our club in size, but the growth of our mental prowess, as well. We hope to enlighten others by doing community service. This will unify us, and in turn, enable us and encourage us to mature, and grow into proud human beings.”

In addition to their programs they also sponsor local cultural events including Juneteenth and the Asian and Pacific Islander Festival, which are free to the public and provide an array of entertainment combined with useful health and community information.

These events help to unite a community which could easily be divided by race and culture.