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15th Annual MLK Unity Celebration Devoted to
Social Justice and Activism
Sojourner’s Truth Staff
This year’s annual Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Unity Celebration, held as always at
the University of Toledo’s Savage Arena, brought together
speakers and activists intent on focusing the audience’s
attention on the recent spate of police killings of unarmed
African Americans.
The centerpiece of this
year’s event was the keynote address by Pastor Cori Bush, of
Kingdom Embassy International, a St. Louis, Missouri area
minister, activist and organizer with Ferguson Frontline,
formed in the aftermath of the killing of Michael Brown in
August 2014 by Police Officer Darren Wilson. Bush has been
on the frontlines of the Ferguson movement as a protestor,
cleric and medic (she is also a registered nurse).
Also giving voice to the
theme of paying homage to such recent deaths was a local
group Justice or Else All Stars who chanted the name of the
black men and women killed recently by law enforcement
officials. “End Police Brutality” and Black Lives Matter”
were the placards they raised.
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Soloist Carmen Miller
opened the event, followed by the call to order by hosts
Andrew Kinsey and Vivian Hurtado. The Scott High School
Marching Band entertained the audience before the U.S. Armed
Forces brought forward an honor guard and the Toledo Fire &
Police Departments presented the colors.
UT President Sharon Graber
welcomed guests and audience and remarks were offered by
Toledo Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson, U.S. Congresswoman Marcy
Kaptur and Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Romules
Durant, Ed.D.
Bush, a recipient of the
2015 Woman of Courage Award from the Emmett Till Legacy
Foundation, urged the audience to “validate the voiceless,”
noting how voiceless those in Ferguson felt after the Brown
killing and the decision not to indict the officer.
“We questioned, we
shouted, we cried, we sang, we prayed, we yelled,” said
Bush. “The police yelled, they threatened, they bullied,
they beat, they stomped, they arrested, they hogtied and
tear-gassed us. I’m not anti-police; I’m anti-police
brutality. I’m anti-foolishness.”
Other performers at this
15th annual event included the United Vision
Baptist Choir, the Toledo International Youth Orchestra, the
JV4 and Matthew Hart. |
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