AREVA MARTIN 

RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM URBAN LEAGUE OF METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

Martin and Award-winning Actress Tichina Arnold Among Honorees Feted at the Annual Salute to Women in Leadership Gala

For Immediate Release

 LOS ANGELES – Media personality, civil rights attorney and child advocate Areva Martin is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis on September 9, 2022 at the 19^th annual Salute to Women in Leadership Gala in St. Louis.  More than 1,000 women, dignitaries, community and business leaders, politicians, friends and family gathered in the ballroom of the Marriott St. Louis Grand  to celebrate #BlackGirlMagic, in recognizing various honorees for their contributions and philanthropic efforts. Along with Martin, award-winning actress Tichina Arnold, also received a Lifetime Achievement Award for her contribution to television and film. Mayor Tishaura Jones was in attendance, showering praise to Martin and the other honorees for their commitment and contribution to their respective communities. Entertainment was provided by Tony Award-winning and Grammy nominated actress/singer Melba Moore and recording artist Angela Winbush, a St. Louis native, of the popular 1980s R & B duo Rene and Angela.

Also a St. Louis native, Martin  was recognized for her philanthropic work with her non-profit organization, Special Needs Network (SNN). Special Needs network (SNN) is a non-profit organization that Martin founded in 2005 after she was met with obstacles in accessing necessary services for her son, Marty, who was diagnosed with autism at two years old. Since its inception, SNN has provided service to hundreds of thousands of families.  SNN is one of the nation’s leading social justice, autism, and disability rights organizations.

“I am humbled to be recognized by the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis in front of my hometown crowd of family and friends with a Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Martin. “Even though I feel a bit too young to get this award, I proudly accept it, knowing there’s still so much work for me to do.”  

Past honorees of the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Salute to Women in Leadership Gala, include  recent Emmy-winner Sheryl Lee Ralph, former editor of Essence magazine Susan L. Taylor, Grammy-winning gospel singers Shirley Caesar and Yolanda Adams, media mogul Cathy Hughes of Urban One, plus, another St. Louis native,  award-winning actress Jenifer Lewis.

ABOUT AREVA MARTING, ESQ.

Areva Martin is one of the nation’s leading voices in media, covering topics such as law, race, politics, pop culture, celebrity and breaking news! She has a unique way of blending her outstanding legal expertise with her passion for promoting inclusion, diversity and equality within ALL environments! Currently, Martin serves as a CNN and HLN legal analyst and contributor as well as host of her own web-based, in-depth current affairs talk show, called “The Special Report With Areva Martin.” She also she has a weekend show on Tavis Smiley’s KBLA Talk 1580, called “Areva Martin Out Loud.” A Harvard law school grad, she is the founding member of Martin & Martin, LLP, one of Los Angeles’ premier African American female-owned law firms.

She has been identified as a California Super Lawyer for the last five years, an honor bestowed on the top five percent of California’s attorneys. Martin is also the founder and president of Special Needs Network, Inc., (SNN), one of the nation’s leading disability, children’s health and social justice nonprofits. She founded the organization in 2005, after she was met with obstacles in accessing necessary services for her son, Marty, who was diagnosed with autism at two years old.

Martin is the author of four books. Her latest is “AWAKENING: Ladies, Leadership and Lies We’ve Been Told.”  In her book, she continues to explore societal norms for gender roles within America’s average working environment. She intends for this book to be the average working woman’s manual to breaking outdated generational gender roles.