State tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I'll make a difference"
by Heidi M. Pascual
African American Ethnic Academy student Nia McMillen read part of  "I Have a Dream" speech, and entertainment numbers were provided by Lighthouse Singers, Highway to Heaven, UW-Madison Gospel Choir, and saxophonist Kirk Whalum. Wis. Police Officers came in for the Honor Guard Tribute and Memorial, to the music of bagpipers Tom Greenhalgh and Sean Michael Dargan,drummer Ken Klary, and trumpeteer John Georgeson. The State's annual MLK tribute honoring Dr. King was presented by Africasong Communications. Jonathan Overby emceed the proceedings.
     The city of Madison and Dane County jointly held their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday celebration at the new Overture Center's Capitol Theater on Monday, Jan. 16. It was the culmination of several days of celebration planned by the King Coalition, a community group that takes care of preparing for this big event every year since1985.
      The Community Choir was resplendent, not only in red and black but most importantly, in the awesome musical numbers led by Letrice Stanley and Leotha Stanley on the piano. They provided the soul-soothing gospel music that fittingly set the tone for the occasion. We should ask them how they were able to flawlessly execute such heavenly pieces given a few hours of practice before D-Day.
      The keynote speaker, Dr. Gloria Johnson-Powell, is the associate dean for cultural diversity at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and director of the Center for the Study of Cultural Diversity in Healthcare.
      Powell -- on a parallel line of thought with Tony Brown earlier that day at the Capitol rotunda -- spoke lovingly and with her deepest gratitude, about her mother, a recipient in the 1930s of federal aid for families with dependent children, when Blacks were considered "not worthy" of grants and aid. Despite being poor, Powell was able to pursue her dream of being a medical doctor in large part because of her mother's guidance and influence on her. She discussed the issue of disparities in health care among minority populations, citing in the process her own family's encounter with a system that did not understand the cultural and genetic differences among people of color resulting in misdiagnosed illnesses, wrong prescriptions, and oftentimes, death. It is for this reason, she said, why medical institutions should recruit and train people of color to provide this much-needed health service.
      Madison Mayor David Cieslewicz presented the city Humanitarian Awards to Mary Kay Baum, executive director of the Madison-area Urban Ministry, and student Sarah Fox. "Mary Kay Baum has been a community leader on a remarkable range of social justice issues for decades," Cieslewicz said. "Sara Fox, West High senior, has built a long record of volunteerism ... and five-time recipient of the Presidential Student Service Award."
      Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk presented the county's recognition awards to Paul Kusuda and Wisconsin First Lady Jessica Doyle. "Paul Kusuda was in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II. Instead of allowing that unfortunate and painful experience to make him bitter, he has worked hard to heal those wounds..." Falk said. "Jessica Doyle is the personification of MLK's insistence that education is an essential tool required for the realization of equality and full citizenship."
(Click here for a complete description of the City-County Martin Luther King Jr. Awards.)
       Student Monica Davidsong delivered a special poem, Kia Calmese Walker did a powerful rendition of  "Precious Lord Take My Hand," and a diverse youth group danced and sang a beautiful piece directed by Collie McNair.
    "My race is human, the greatest creation of God," began Tony Brown, founding dean and professor of the school of journalism at Howard University, and guest speaker at the State of Wisconsin's Martin Luther King Jr.'s celebration in the Capitol rotunda January 16. "My life experience is an illusion; it's filled with people and faces that in the end will dissipate into eternity. My goal is eternal life." Brown, who is known as "Television's Civil Rights Crusader" by Black Enterprise magazine, received wild applause after almost every sentence that ended with a punch line. "When we sing 'We Shall Overcome,' I hope our White brothers and sisters know 'WE' include them," he said. He then told his story, focusing on the wisdom of his mother that guided him toward making a difference in his life and in that of others. Brown is winner of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Silver Circle Award.
(Above) UW-Madison Gospel Choir; (Top left) James Cameron; Tony Brown; Gov. Jim Doyle and Fred Gray.
Herzing College's Charles Taylor opened the Business and Technical panel at the Villager Mall Jan. 16, where Herzing faculty, staff, and students listened to and asked panelists Ray Allen and Heidi Pascual on the need to learn about diversity issues and how businesses can partner with Herzing College
Gov. Doyle presented the two MLK State awards to Fred Gray, the Alabama lawyer who represented the late Rosa Parks in the case that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott; and to James Cameron, founder of America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee. Gray was one of the first two African Americans to serve in the Ala. legislature since Reconstruction.  "It makes a difference for us to try ..." Gray said, referring to the legislation all over the U.S. that approved the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, years after he filed a similar bill in Alabama in 1973 that failed to even get committee approval. Even today, Gray is a very active participant in politics and civic life, offering his testimony in the U.S. Congress for the need to man the Supreme Court with men and women with exemplary record of protecting civil rights. Cameron, at 92 and on wheelchair, belabored to deliver his message of peace, but succeeded in doing so. The "only living survivor of a lynching," Cameron became a civil rights leader and founded three chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Indiana. His Black Holocaust Museum (founded in 1988) in Milwaukee documents the racial discrimination suffered by Americans of African descent in the U.S.A.
City-County tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"A nation in despair: "Where do we go from here?"
Atsuko & Paul Kusuda
Wis. First Lady Jessica Doyle & Dane County Exec. Kathleen Falk
MLK youth awardee for the City of Madison Sarah Fox
(Above left to right photos) MLK adult awardee for the City of Madison Mary Kay Baum with Mayor Dave Cieslewicz; Urban League of Greater Madison Executive Director Scott Gray emcees; the Community Choir with Leo Stanley; Guest speaker Dr. Gloria Johnson-Powell; Corey Reece performs with his sax; the Community Choir.