UAH Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Legacy
Alberto Hernandez-Barral
Issue date: 1/20/05 Section: News
Martin Luther King was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 15, 1929 and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, in the fringes of the claimed Voting Rights Act and the famed march to Montgomery. In 1986, after years of disputes in Congress, the bill stating King's memorial as a National Holiday was turned into law, and thus it was officially declared public holiday every third Monday of January in the United States (celebrated this year on Jan 17). The University of Alabama in Huntsville, on its own initiative, paid tribute to the life and huge legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and commemorated the occasion especially. An event sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Student Affairs and neatly hosted and arranged by a number of students involved in UAH minority-group associations, met up to around 120 - 150 people at the Exhibit Hall, last Thursday at 4 pm.
The event had raised upbeat expectations due to the presence of Mr. Joe Rogers, a powerful, "dynamic and energetic" communicator, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado until January of 2003, and the youngest one to serve in that position. He holds the distinction of being "the fourth African American in US history ever elected as a state's number 2 chief executive," a publicizing flyer stated. Mr. Rogers, now an attorney, was the recipient of a prestigious Trumpet Award in 2001. These awards have been conceded by Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) since 1993 aimed "to herald the accomplishments of Black Americans who have succeeded against immense odds," according to the Awards web page. "Special recognition is given to the few, who symbolize the many, who have overcome the ills of racism and poverty and achieved special greatness". Ray Charles, Lena Horne, Rosa Parks, Condolezza Rice, Whitney Houston, Colin Power as well as Coretta Scott King, Nat "King" Cole and B. B. King are among many others honored by the recognition.
UAH President Frank Franz attended the celebration and welcomed it. He congratulated African American students and faculty for their work and dedication. He praised the latter's good skills, abilities and expertise, and especially has warm words for Michael Moore, President of the Black Student Association, who also made a short initial invocation to the act. Mr. Franz remembered: "This University, at one time of its history, has no African American students; we now have more than 900. We had zero percent undergraduates at one point; now, 15 percent of the undergraduate body is African American. In the past three years, we have more than doubled the number of African Americans among faculty staff".
The event had raised upbeat expectations due to the presence of Mr. Joe Rogers, a powerful, "dynamic and energetic" communicator, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado until January of 2003, and the youngest one to serve in that position. He holds the distinction of being "the fourth African American in US history ever elected as a state's number 2 chief executive," a publicizing flyer stated. Mr. Rogers, now an attorney, was the recipient of a prestigious Trumpet Award in 2001. These awards have been conceded by Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) since 1993 aimed "to herald the accomplishments of Black Americans who have succeeded against immense odds," according to the Awards web page. "Special recognition is given to the few, who symbolize the many, who have overcome the ills of racism and poverty and achieved special greatness". Ray Charles, Lena Horne, Rosa Parks, Condolezza Rice, Whitney Houston, Colin Power as well as Coretta Scott King, Nat "King" Cole and B. B. King are among many others honored by the recognition.
UAH President Frank Franz attended the celebration and welcomed it. He congratulated African American students and faculty for their work and dedication. He praised the latter's good skills, abilities and expertise, and especially has warm words for Michael Moore, President of the Black Student Association, who also made a short initial invocation to the act. Mr. Franz remembered: "This University, at one time of its history, has no African American students; we now have more than 900. We had zero percent undergraduates at one point; now, 15 percent of the undergraduate body is African American. In the past three years, we have more than doubled the number of African Americans among faculty staff".