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The annual event also will feature speeches from winners of
the 2018 Statewide MLK Oratorical Contest held last April.
The awards and their recipients are as follows:
Community Building Award
criteria: The recipient selected in this category has made
significant contributions toward building a sense of unity
among Ohio citizens. The recipient has demonstrated the
ability to build safer communities through various
activities and programs that help to revitalize areas and
make our communities a more wholesome and desirable place
for living, learning and loving. The recipient has used Dr.
King’s vision of nonviolent social change in efforts to
successfully bring people from diverse backgrounds together
to build a better community.
Winner: Michael Douglas, Chesterland,
founded Diversity Initiatives, Inc. in 1998 to help public
and private organizations advance positive interaction and
communication across racial, cultural, socio-economic and
gender-based boundaries. He has consulted with many
companies and school districts and serves as chief diversity
officer for Walsh University.
Cultural Awareness Award
criteria: The recipient selected in this category has
demonstrated an appreciation for diversity and evidenced
skill in building and maintaining harmonious cross-cultural
relationships. The recipient’s achievements foster Dr.
King’s vision of unity among people of diverse cultural
backgrounds.
Winner: Toledo Buffalo Soldiers Motorcycle Club, Inc.,
Toledo,
conducts many community service projects and workshops for
local youth and presents educational presentations about the
heritage and history of the Buffalo Soldiers. The motorcycle
club is named for the historic African-American U.S. Army
regiments nicknamed “Buffalo Soldiers” by Native Americans
who encountered the service members on the battlefield. One
of the most impactful programs the Toledo club is involved
in is a presentation for youth explaining how to react if
they are stopped by the police. They also provide mentoring
and information about respecting oneself and others. Other
projects include adopting a local park and raising funds to
pay swimming pool fees for area children.
Governor’s Humanitarian Award
criteria: The recipient of this award has acted
independently of associations and organizations. The
recipient has given his or her time and service freely to
those in need without question and often without
recognition. This award honors quiet soldiers who promote
the welfare of humanity and elimination of pain and
suffering through their own selfless service.
Winner: Pastor Michael E. Carter, Jr., Toledo.
His ministries at the Praise City Worship Centers in Toledo
and Detroit where he pastors include operating a food pantry
and providing free meals for youth during the summer and
free food for basketball program participants. The centers
hold clothing and toy give-aways. Carter also leads several
small groups, including parenting classes, fatherhood
classes, peer mentoring, youth mentoring and a youth
leadership initiative with millennials in ministry and
business. He also leads a free GED program, and provides job
training and soft skills training.
Health Equity and Awareness Award
criteria: The recipients selected in this category
offer exemplary community outreach and educational programs
that serve an underserved population in the state. These
services increase the accessibility of health care for the
under-served while providing a high quality of customer
service.
(There are two winners.)
Winner: Dr. Darrell Gray II, Columbus,
is a gastroenterologist serving as an assistant professor at
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and The
James Cancer Hospital where he also serves as the deputy
director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity. At OSU he
engineered the Provider and Community Engagement (PACE)
Program for Health Equity in Colorectal Cancer Prevention, a
comprehensive colorectal cancer awareness and screening
program which has been recognized nationally by the American
College of Gastroenterology and National Colorectal Cancer
Roundtable. He also chairs the Health Equity Steering
Committee at OSU, assists in the implementation of Health
Sciences Academies in Columbus City Schools, serves on the
board of Ethiopian Tewahedo Social Services and is an
ambassador for #BlackMeninMedicine.
Winner:
Mental Health and Recovery Services Board of Lucas
County, Toledo, is a leader of diversity and health
equity in Lucas County. The board has funded educational
partners and grass roots organizations, and has provided
direct access for mental health and recovery services for
those who are marginalized in the local community. The board
has demonstrated its vision of creating a compassionate
community that embraces recovery and mental wellness through
enabling community organizations to provide services in
underserved communities in Lucas County. The board also is
committed to ensuring the voice of the disenfranchised is
heard by including consumers in key areas of decision making
and by developing a position for a director of health
equity. The board is an instrumental part of the current
conversation in Lucas County as it relates to addressing
matters of inclusion, diversity and health equity.
Social Justice Award
criteria: The recipient selected in this category has made
significant contributions to achieving justice for
individuals or communities, including contributions made
through the legal, legislative and governmental systems as
they apply to the more vulnerable elements of our society.
Winner: Vincent Edwards, Jr., Cincinnati,
has made many positive contributions to the community. He
works as a victim advocate for the Hamilton County
Prosecutor’s Office. In his spare time, he wrote a
children’s book, One Face/One Race, that explains to
children that even though people may look different on the
outside, on the inside everyone is created equal. He visits
schools where he engages children while reading the book to
get them to discuss these important issues.
Youth: Capturing the Vision of Dr. King Award
criteria: The recipient exemplifies leadership, nonviolence
and commitment to excellence and interracial cooperation as
well as adherence to one or more of Dr. King’s Six
Principles of Nonviolence.
Winner: Groomed for Greatness, Toledo,
is a nonprofit organization serving girls ages 4 to 17. Its
mission is to enhance the lives of girls through
professional and personal research-based programming that
equips them with the necessary skills to be leaders.
Programming includes a diversity forum that exposes
participating girls to other cultures while helping them to
discover who they are and how they can assimilate into
society and become productive citizens. The girls also are
taught how to take active leadership roles and be voices
against injustice and oppression in their community.
The commission is housed in the Equal Opportunity Division
of the Ohio Department of Administrative Services, which
provides centralized support for state agencies.
For more information about the Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. Holiday Commission, visit
das.ohio.gov/mlk.
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