Celebrating
the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
More than 1000 United Planning
Organization friends and supporters joined together as the agency
celebrated its 16th Annual Martin Luther King Memorial Breakfast
on Monday, January 17, 2000. As with previous events, this first
Breakfast of the new century was a resounding success.
Attendees were delighted to hear Mrs.
Virginia Williams, mother of DC Mayor Anthony Williams, perform
a lovely song at the event’s start.
Then UPO Board of Trustees President Russell D. Simmons formally
welcomed participants saying “If Dr. King were alive today,
I think he would be delighted with many of the changes that we
find in society.” He observed that as society enters the
21st century, UPO also enters its 38th year, adding “UPO
has withstood the test of time and adjusted its programs to meet
the needs of the poor.”
DC Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes-Norton
stressed education values saying she especially looks forward
to attending UPO’s Breakfast
“because of the way you choose to commemorate this great
American by honoring community service and by giving scholarships
to young people.”
DC Mayor Anthony Williams observed the importance of such commorancies
urging people not to forget the elegant words Dr. King spoke at
the Lincoln Memorial on that historic day in 1963. However, it
was Mayor Williams’ ‘take’ on the popular television
quiz show “Jeopardy” that brought the audience to its
feet. Using the category “been there, done that” and
noting the answer will “begin with “U” and end
with “O,” Mayor Williams began his off-the-cuff quiz.
Question 1, he began, “an organization that has supported
programs that connect people with work: Answer - UPO.” Question
2, “it has supported programs outside of schools that connect
youth with technology: Answer - UPO.” Question 3, “it
has supported programs that allow families to move into the world
of work: Answer- UPO.” Question 4, it’s an organization
that has long been about the implementation of public-private
partnerships: Answer-UPO.” Question 5, “it’s an
organization that stands for those things that Dr. King stood
for including people coming together and working together: Answer-UPO.”
One of the more moving segments of each year’s Breakfast
is the issuance of awards to deserving individuals and organizations
who have, in keeping with Dr. King’s ideals, contributed
to the overall betterment of life in the District of Columbia.
DC City Council Chairperson Linda Cropp, following her formal
welcome on behalf of the DC City Council, presented the Martin
Luther King, Jr. Corporate Community Services Award to William
C. Smith & Com
pany, Inc.
Ward Eight Councilmember Sandy Allen presented the Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. Community Service Award to the United Black Fund,
an organization that has long served the needs of DC and other
area residents. Accepting the award for the UBF was the legendary
Washington public servant Mrs. Wilhelminia Rolark, President of
that organization. Mrs. Rolark (a former DC City Councilmember)
thanked UPO for the award on behalf of UBF’s Board and staff
and noted her group provides funding to many area organizations
allowing them to serve the needs of residents.
Mr. Russell Simmons presented the Mildred Claypoole Community
Service Award to Mr. James G. Banks, UPO’s first executive
director.
Other awards were issued including the Special Act of Service
Award which was presented by UPO Board member Erias Hyman to the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which was accepted by Dr. George
Ayres; and the George H.R. Barney Ross Award presented by Board
member Mrs. Dorothy M. Brown to Multi-Therapeutic Services, Inc.
The keynote speaker was introduced by the Honorable Annice M.
Wagner, Vice President of UPO’s Board of Trustees, who noted
that Mr. Randall Robinson “has been an ardent voice against
apartheid in South Africa, pushed for fair and humane treatment
for Haitian refugees, and other oppressed peoples. “In fact,”
she added, “it’s been said that his efforts ultimately
helped lead to the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa.”
It was then Mr. Robinson’s turn to follow in the footsteps
of other nationally and internationally recognized individuals
who have in the past keynoted UPO’s much heralded event.
Mr. Randall Robinson, head of TransAfrica Forurm/Foundation, took
the audience by storm with his thoughtful and elegantly presented
speech that focused on African American’s past and their
economic future.
“He wasn’t just a civil rights leader,” Mr. Robinson
said referring to Dr. King. “He was a man who believed in
fair accommodations for all and much more.” In discussing
youth, he said “we must tell young people why they are in
the fix they’re in and how they got there.”
The overriding theme of slavery kept appearing in his oratory.
“Often people can’t see beyond the meanness of slavery”
he said, observing how people tend to think of slavery as simply
a minor incovenience. On that subject, he said “If you cannot
know who you are, you cannot know who you can be!”
On economics, Mr. Robinson emphasized that Dr. King always talked
about economic justice. He also outlined how much of Washington,
DC including the U.S. Capitol Building was constructed by slaves
who received no pay whatsoever for their services. “Slavery
assigned us to the economic bottom of American society and racial
discrimination that followed kept us there.”
Mr. Robinson advised audience members that people who don’t
have money also don’t have power. He ended his resounding
speech saying “We worked and built this country and we were
never compensated - It is now our due!”
UPO Executive Director Benjamin Jennings, noting the morning’s
extreme cold weather, advised attendees that UPO operates a Hypothermia
Hotline that gets homeless individuals and families off the streets
and into suitable and warm facilities during the extremely cold
snap. He also introduced several 1999 UPO/Joseph A. Beavers scholarship
recipients to the audience.
The 16th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast was
a success not only because of the agency’s many friends and
supporters, but also due in part to those corporate sponsors who
with their contributions, help make certain several DC students
will be able to attend a college or university of their choice.
This year the Harman International Industries, Incorporated was
the Breakfast’s Silver Underwriter. Corporate sponsors included
Bell Atlantic, Freddie Mac, Kaiser Permanente, McDonald’s
Corporation and Riggs Bank. This year’s event was broadcast
live on Radio One’s WOL Radio.
Planning is now underway for UPO’s 17th annual Breakfast,
set for Monday, January 15, 2001.
To learn more about UPO's annual Martin
Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast, click here to link to the
Breakfast page.
###
Other articles - this issue
1. Celebrating the Life
of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
More that 1000 United
Planning Organization friends and supposters joined together ...
UPO REPORTER
Published by the United
Planning Organization
401 M Street, SW Washington, DC 20024
President: Russell D. Simmons
Executive Director: Benjamin Jennings
Writer/Editor: Harvey N. Johnson III
Click here for main "REPORTER" page
