Normal awarded Likhita Kalla the Youth “I Have a Dream” Award in 2014. Photo Courtesy of Town of Normal.

by Douglas Edwin

On January 17th, the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award Luncheon will be held at the Bone Student Center on the campus of Illinois State University.

“This is the 39th year,” Sally Heffernan, Normal Assistant City Manager, said. “This is one of the longest continuous Martin Luther King Jr. Luncheons in the country.”

The annual event honors the legacy of Dr. King by recognizing two high school students and two adults for their work in the community.

In 2014 Normal awarded Paul Bushnell the Adult Human Relations award and Likhita Kalla the Youth “I Have a Dream” award.

On December 18th, the Bloomington and Normal Human Relations Commissions announced the nominees for the 2015 award.

Normal’s three adult nominees are Sonya Mau, Marcos Mendez, and Takesha Stokes. Normal’s four youth nominees are Lokesh Julakanti, Keerthi C. Amballa, Kristina Smith and Imani Gilbert.

Bloomington’s three adult nominees are Anthony Jones, Marc Miller, and Elizabeth Robinson. Bloomington’s eight youth nominees are Oludayo Ajai, Jordan Blyth, Markus Brooks, Radience Campbell, Kiana A. King, Jordan Palmer, Tanmay Shah, and Malik Woods.

“What they’re looking for is non-paid volunteer activities in the community with the emphasis on activities that promote a better understanding among people of diverse backgrounds,” Heffernan said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s for children or adults, it can take a lot of different forms.”

Each town solicits their own nominations for residents of their respective community.

Normal awarded Paul Bushnell the Adult Human Relations Award in 2014.  Photo courtesy of Town of Normal.

“We have a lot of good applicants that have been involved with things like a multi-cultural leadership group, boys and girls clubs, and other organizations,” Heffernan said. “There are a lot of different organizations out there that work at promoting understanding and helping people get along.”

Narrowing each field of nominees down to just one winner isn’t always very easy.

“It’s difficult because you’re often comparing people that have had different experiences and have been involved with different efforts,” Heffernan said. “The commissioners spent a lot of time going through the nominations and discussing what makes one person stand out a little more than the others.”

Each year a guest speaker is chosen for the event. This years guest speaker will be Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie.

“She was the first female to be titled head of the A.M.E. (African Methodist Episcopal) Church, which goes back many years in this country,” Heffernan said. “She was also the National Chaplain for the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, is a lifetime member of the NAACP, and has written leadership development books for women.”

Bishop McKenzie’s books include Not Without a Struggle, Strength in the Struggle: Leadership Development for Women, A Journey to the Well, and Swapping Housewives.

Tickets for the 2015 MLK Luncheon and Awards are available now. Tickets are available for $20 per person or $200 for a reserved table for a maximum of ten people.

Tickets can be purchased at both Normal and Bloomington’s City Halls or from Human Relations Commission members.

For more information on the Human Relations Commission and the MLK Luncheon you can visit normal.org or http://www.cityblm.org.