news/national

Eleven Local Civil And Human Rights Activists To Be Honored

January 10, 2020

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Vice Adm. Sean Buck , 63rd Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy. Keynote Speaker

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The 32nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Awards Reception and Dinner will be held Friday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m., at La Fontaine Bleue in Glen Burnie. The largest celebration of Dr. King’s birthday in Anne Arundel County is co-sponsored by the U.S. Naval Academy and St. John’s College. The Naval Academy Gospel Choir will perform at the event. The Academy’s new Superintendent will give his first address to a major civil rights organization. Among the 10 honorees acknowledged at the event are: Brian E. Frosh,

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Brian E. Frosh, Courageous Leadership Award

of Annapolis, winner of the Courageous Leadership Award, and Maryland’s 46th Attorney General; Thornell Jones, of Annapolis, winner of the Dream Keepers Award, who participated in the March on Washington in 1963 and the anniversary march in 2013, and has been a strong proponent of civil rights programs in Anne Arundel County; and BWI Deputy Fire Chief Gregory Lawrence,

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Thornell Jones, Dream Keepers Award

of Baltimore, winner of the Alan Hilliard Legum Civil Rights Award, for his outstanding contributions to the emergency management community.

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Gregory Lawrence Alan Hilliard Legum Civil Rights Award

General admission tickets for the dinner are $65 before Jan. 10 and $70 afterward, VIP tickets are $125, and all tickets may be purchased online at http://www.mlkjrmd.org/, by phone at 301-538-6353; or by mail to MLK Jr. Committee, PO Box 371, Annapolis, Md. 21404.

The VIP reception begins at 5 p.m. For VIP table reservations call Terry Mc Mahan at 410-760-4115 # 235. For ticket information, call 301.904.3690.

Addressing the dinner and reception will be Vice Adm. Sean Buck, the 63rd Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy giving his first address to a major civil rights organization.. A native of Indianapolis, Buck graduated and received his commission from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1983 and was designated a naval flight officer in 1985. Special guests attending the event will include Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman; Harford County Executive Barry Glassman; Congressman Anthony Brown; Congressman John P. Sarbanes; Judge Vickie Gipson; and a who’s who in local, state and national politics.

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Awards Dinner in Anne Arundel County was founded in 1988 by then Alderman Carl Snowden. Designed to pay homage to the memory of Dr. King, the dinner honors those whose deeds, words, and actions have helped keep his legacy alive. The banquet is a reflection on the best that Anne Arundel County has to offer.

Other winners of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., awards who will be recognized for their dedication to the ideals of Dr. King include: Alderman DaJuan Gay, of Annapolis, winner of the Morris H. Blum Humanitarian Award; Lisa Lindsay-Mondoro, of Annapolis, winner of the We Share the Dream Award; Richard “Dick” Callahan, of Annapolis, winner of the c Lieutenant Oheneba K. Dwodu, of Annapolis, winner of the Drum Major Award; Midshipman Second Class Corey Jackson Jr., of Annapolis, winner of the Drum Major Award; Christine Tolbert, of Bel Air, winner of the Alan Hillard Legum Civil Rights Award; Sabrina Nelson Winters, of Bel Air, winner of the Drum Major Award; and Jesse Shanks, of Aberdeen, winner of the Alan Hillard Legum Civil Rights Award.