|
This year’s event, which
was dedicated to the memory of Derrick Roberts, EdE, who
passed away in December and whose presence as the leader of
the Interfaith Mass Choir – an integral part of such events
in the past – was sorely missed.
Monday’s celebration
opened with pre-event entertainment by This Way Out,
followed by the traditional processional of elected
officials and faith-based leaders. The Scott High School
Marching Band presented a musical introduction before hosts,
Kristian Brown of 13abc and Charlie Mack of The Juice,
started the program.
After the introduction of
the honor guard, the presentation of colors, the Star
Spangled Banner and the Pledge of Allegiance, Sharon Gaber,
PhD, president of UT, welcomed the audience members and
Jalen Welborn, a UT student sang James Weldon Johnson’s
“Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Remarks were then offered
by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, Lucas County Commissioner
Carol Contrada, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz and Toledo
Public School Superintendent Romules Durant, EdD,
Contrada spoke of the
ongoing disparities between the majority population and
communities of color in areas such as education, criminal
justice, the economy and the current attempts to purge
voters in those communities of color.
Kapszukiewicz spoke of the
qualities of King, Jr. that made him such an effective
leader: his education, his reform mentality and his youth.
“He was making a difference at the earliest stages of his
life,” said the mayor.
Durant, closed the remarks
by noting that the MLK “I Have a Dream” speech “lives in
each and every one of us.”
John Legend’s “Glory”
formed the accompaniment for a dance by a troupe from the
Toledo School for the Arts which was followed by the MLK
Scholarship presentation by Willie McKether, PhD, UT vice
provost and vice president for Diversity and Inclusion and
the United Way African American Leadership Council
Scholarship Awards by Candice Harrison and Craig Teamer.
The United Way recipients
are: Chryst’Ann Allen, a sophomore at UT majoring in
psychology with a minor in counseling planning to work with
at-risk youth; Devin Brandon, a freshman majoring in
pharmacy; Dominga Grace a freshman and a nursing major;
Charles Perry, a junior majoring in criminal justice and
paralegal studies who plans to join a federal law
enforcement agency and Randy Thomas, a junior and an
environmental science major planning to become a landscape
architect/zoologist.
The United Vision Baptist
Church Choir offered a musical selection before the Toledo
Opera introduced the audience to a special upcoming event.
In April, opening on the fourth day of that month which is
50 years to the day of the MLK assassination, the Opera will
bring to Toledo a world premiere of “I Dream: The Story of a
Preacher from Atlanta,” by Douglas Tappin. On Monday special
guest Darnell Ishmel of the Toledo Opera sang an aria from
the forthcoming production.
|
.JPG)
.JPG)
