The Texas Tech and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Black Faculty and Staff Association hosted a banquet Saturday at the Tech Law School in celebration of Black History Month.
The banquet was the fourth annual banquet and the ninth annual Black History Month event the association has hosted.
Stephen Ekwaro-Osire, an at-large member of the association, said the banquet was intended to provide an outreach to the Lubbock community and to honor Alfred and Billie Caviel. The Caviels, he said, were the first African-American pharmacists in Lubbock.
“They’ve been here since 1957,” Ekwaro-Osire said.
The association chose to honor the Caviels because of the large volume of great things they have done for the Lubbock community during their careers, he said.
Eric Strong, director of the Roots Historical Arts Council and storyteller, said the Caviels went through much struggle as business owners but stayed competitive through persistence.
“If you can’t honor the Caviels, then nobody in Lubbock deserves the honor,” he said.
Aretha Marbley, president of the association, said total attendance at the banquet was 198, the largest amount of people who have attended an event the association hosted.
“Looking out at this audience reminds me of (President Barack) Obama’s ‘Yes We Can’ speech that he gave in South Carolina when he won the Democratic nomination,” she said.
The high attendance, Ekwaro-Osire said, was more of a reflection of the honorees than anything else.
The banquet’s theme was The Challenges of a Global Economy, and featured a keynote speech by Calvin Davis of the United States Small Business Administration about facing those challenges.
“To prepare we must plan, and to gain we must give,” Davis said during his speech.
Upon receiving the honor from the association, Billie Caviel said she and her husband were thankful for everyone who came to share the honor with them.
Stacy Caviel-Watson, daughter of Alfred and Billie Caviel, said the banquet was a clear example of the relationship her parents shared with the Lubbock community.
“My parents did what they did not for recognition, but to do what was right,” she said.
Caviel-Watson said her parents possess a strong sense of community and provided many services and jobs to the East Lubbock community.
Marbley and the Black Faculty and Staff Association, Caviel-Watson said, did a great job of organizing the banquet and presenting the honor to her parents.
Lisa Patterson, also a daughter of Alfred and Billie Caviel, said she enjoyed every bit of the life she shared with her parents.
“They were great parents, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world,” she said.
As the association continues to be a part of the Tech and Lubbock communities, Marbley said, she would like to see that involvement continue to grow.
“We want to bridge the gap between Texas Tech and the African—American community of Lubbock,” she said.
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