THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, January 21, 1997 TAG: 9701210254
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY NANCY LEWIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 50 lines
It has been a quarter of a century since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called on people of tough minds and tender hearts to create a world where the color of one's skin doesn't matter.
Today, many individuals of all races work tirelessly to bring King's dream to life.
On Monday, nine local people noted for their efforts in this regard were honored at the first ``Implement the King Dream'' awards banquet at Norfolk State University's Scott Dozier Hall.
The event was dedicated to the Rev. Bernard E. Spellman, who died suddenly Jan. 12 as he embarked on his third two-year term as president of the Norfolk branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the oldest civil-rights organization in the country. Spellman, 57, had been a member of the Norfolk NAACP for more than two decades.
Spellman's death touched many in the community, white and black.
He had helped organize Monday's awards ceremony, and so it was set aside as a tribute to the local leader.
The theme of the event - ``Striving towards unity: Living Dr. King's Colorless Dream,'' was the subject of Lula Sears Rogers' keynote speech.
Norfolk native Rogers, a speech pathologist in Portsmouth public schools, called King ``the dreamer, the great unifier, the great drum major for justice,'' and urged those present to ``continue to implement the dream.''
``He responded to all oppressed,'' she said. ``This man who spoke of a colorless dream. Can we live a colorless dream in a color-ful world?''
About 100 attended the gala presented by Unique K Productions of Norfolk, including Norfolk Councilman Paul Riddick, who also addressed the crowd.
A portion of the proceeds from the banquet will go to the Martin Luther King Monument fund.
In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1964, King said, ``The non-violent answer to crucial political and moral questions of our time is the need for man to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence.''
His legacy lives on through those honored Monday: Cheryl Wilkerson, Leroy Twine, the Rev. Geoffrey V. Guns, Dr. Mary Welch, George Welch, the Rev. Herman Carrington, Elwood L. Williams, Bishop Eddie Dunlap and Paula Dunlap. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by GARY C. KNAPP
Performers at the ``Implement the King Dream'' awards banquet
included the ``Honey and the Rock'' dance troupe. Among the dancers
were Naomi Mitchell, left, and Kodedra Dockery, right, both of
Portsmouth.
KEYWORDS: MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.