Dream 365 ended its Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend Celebration lauding what a visiting figure in the civil rights movement called “unsung heroes” of the community.
A commemorative breakfast at Trotter Convention Center on Monday wrapped up the local group”s fifth and biggest year celebrating the MLK Jr. holiday, with more than 20,000 people attending throughout the weekend, according to an event representative.
The breakfast featured Ernest Green, one of the Little Rock Nine, the first group of black students to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., after the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Brown vs. Board of Education that declared segregation illegal.
A successful businessman, Green now travels as a motivational and educational speaker. He said he had been to the Golden Triangle area before, involved in a job training program in the 1970s for the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway project. “The Tenn-Tom Waterway project, being a federal activity, is a direct connection to the civil rights movement. I think a city like Columbus should say thanks to Dr. King,” he said.
“The thing about this movement is that there are many unsung heroes, this is a great time to recognize them and we need to do more of that.”
The Dream 365 directors gave out community awards at the breakfast including Oasis of Freedom Awards, Essay Contest winner awards, and Unsung Hero Awards.
The Oasis of Freedom and Justice recipients went to community members who had advanced Columbus through their actions in the past year. Fourteenth Chancery Court District Senior Judge Dorothy Colom, Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director James Tsismanakis, Genesis Church Pastor Rev. Darren Leach, and Mississippi University for Women Interim President Allegra Brigham were all given the Oasis of Freedom and Justice award.
Tsismanakis said he was very honored to be chosen for the award. “I think I”ve worked very closely with the African-American community and 365 to bridge the gap and help grow and support Columbus. This award will be placed in my new office in Atlanta,” he said. Tsismanakis is leaving in a few weeks to take a position with the DeKalb County, Ga., tourism bureau.
Recipient Allegra Brigham said she was humbled to even be considered for the award. “We all want to make Columbus a better place to live and work. It”s part of our basic purpose. We get so much more done in life when we work together, that goes for any organization.”
Another award, the Unsung Heroes, was given to Nancy Guerry of Helping Hands, Marilyn Agnew of Columbus School District, Rhonda Sanders of Columbus Police Department, Roger Burlingame of Ceco Building Systems, Cable One, and Freedom Riders Viola Weatherby and Ruby Harrison.
The CPD”s Sanders says she was shocked to be contacted about the unsung heroes award. “I love working with people and helping people. I”m the lucky one to have a job where I have the opportunity to do this,” she said.
Finally, after an art and essay contest for Columbus School District students, about a dozen winners were given savings bonds, Walmart gift certificates, and scholarships.
K-sixth grade Art winners were Samuel Yarborough from Cook in first place, Kyla Norwood from Sale in second place, Hemyar Nagi from Sale in third and an honorable mention to Raven Horn from Sale, for their depictions of the Little Rock Nine. Seventh through 12th grade winners were Nathasia Montgomery, Jarvis Bonner, J”Shawn Boyd and Tiya James for the same subject.
Essay Contest winners for third through fifth grade included Joshua Spencer of Fairview, Ardrianna Rice of Cook, Destiny Roseburg of Stokes-Beard, Kerrigan Clark of Franklin and Darrell Johnson of Stokes-Beard for their essays on what attribute led to Dr. King”s success.
Sixth through Eighth grade winners included India Yarborough, Ty”Jay” A. Alsobrooks, Malik Seals, Kiara Jones, and Gabrielle Dean for their essays on how integration has improved the quality of life in America.
The high school essay contest winners were Julia Langford, Jalen Parker and Mary Paige Thrash, all of Columbus High, for their essays on what suggestions they though Dr. King would make to improve white/black relations.
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