Best of Area Gospel Honor King's Memory

The Mount Pisgah Praise Dancers performed at the 2013 Gospel Festival

Illinois Wesleyan University and the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal will present the 25th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday Gospel Festival on Jan. 19. The event, free to the public, will run from 4 to 9 p.m. in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall.

The festival honors King’s legacy and will feature performances by The United Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal Mass Choir, The Gayles Memorial Baptist Mass Choir and Praise Dancers of Aurora, The Fantastic Jones Family of Springfield, and the Rev. Spencer Gibson and the Integrity Singers from Peoria.

Additional performers include Mount Pisgah Sunbeam Choir, Union Missionary Baptist Church Junior Gospel Quartet, Union Missionary Baptist Church Adult Choir, Mount Pisgah Praise Dancers and Mount Pisgah Adult Choir.

The Gospel Festival was founded in 1991 by the late Corine Sims and her husband, the Rev. James Sims, with Illinois Wesleyan and the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal as co-founders. King spoke at Illinois Wesleyan in 1961 and returned to the University in 1966 after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

For additional information about the festival, or to make arrangements for persons with disabilities requiring any auxiliary aids, services, or special arrangements, contact Carl Teichman, director of government and community relations at (309)556-3429, or Barbara Sims-Malone, president of the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal, at (309)706-6638.

Presser Hall is located on the west side of Park Street. To access free parking across the street behind the Minor Myers, jr. Welcome Center, turn east on University Avenue

NIOT Leaders Nominated for 2015 King Award

Mary Ann Ford

The Pantagraph

Three residents from Normal and three from Bloomington are nominated for the 2015 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. awards. 

Adult nominees from Normal are Sonya Mau, Marcos Mendez and Takesha Stokes. Bloomington adult nominees are Anthony "Tony" Jones, Marc Miler and Elizabeth Robinson.

The winners will be determined by the Bloomington and Normal Human Relations Commissions and announced at the 39th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. awards luncheon at 1 p.m. Jan. 17 at Bone Student Center at Illinois State University. 

Mau is executive director and one of the founding parents of the Multicultural Leadership Program, designed to develop diverse leaders. She also is a founding member of the Illinois Prairie Community Foundation's Women to Women Giving Circle that raises money to meet the needs of local women and children and further develop philanthropic leadership skills.

She was the first woman and the first Asian to "break the glass ceiling" and achieve a high management position at Country Financial. She also is a long-time member of Toast Masters International and has been a mentor to numerous others.

                                                                    Marcos Mendez

Mendez is chairman of the board for Conexiones Latinas de McLean County and an active member of State Farm's Hispanic affinity group. He volunteers as a basketball coach at the YMCA and as a soccer coach for the Prairie Cities Soccer League.

He was instrumental in planning the first Day of the Dead celebration at the Children's Discovery Museum and secured 300 free passes to ensure all families who wanted to could participate. He also has been involved in the Minorities and Police Partnership which is designed to help foster better cooperation and understanding between the Bloomington and Normal police departments and the Latino community.

Stokes is a volunteer with the Boys & Girls Club, serving as a tutor, mentor and program assistant and was in part responsible for establishment of the Teen Pageant hosted by the club. She also is active in Mount Pisgah Baptist Church including serving on the food pantry team, as church clerk and an aide to the pastor. She also is a long-time member of the Orthodox Woodriver District Baptist Association.

She is first vice president of the Bloomington-Normal NAACP and has served in several other capacities with the organization; and is past president of the Bloomington-Normal Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

Jones has coordinated the Bloomington-Normal Cultural Festival; spearheaded the creation of an entrepreneur showcase to inform the community of minority business; and created a monthly fundraising event with proceeds going to different community organizations.

He has served on numerous committees and boards including the Bloomington Human Relations Commission, McLean County Urban League, Boys & Girls Club, Minority and Police Partnership, West Bloomington Revitalization Project, Black Business Alliance, 100 Black Men of Central Illinois and the Bloomington-Normal NAACP.

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                                                                           Marc Miller

Miller is chairman of the Not In Our Town finance committee and has been an advocate for the group for more than 18 years, including taking the Not In Our Town Pledge cards into local schools.

He is a founding member of the Pratt Music Foundation and currently serves as president. He also founded the Share the Music program to provide low-cost rental instruments to Twin Cities children who want to participate in band or orchestra but can't afford the rental fees.

Robinson is membership chairman for the Black Business Alliance and is an active member of the Crossroads-Global Handcrafts board. She works with Heartland Community College students, volunteers with survivors of domestic violence through Countering Domestic Violence, and mentors teens, young women and women through the YWCA, Urban League, Junior Achievement and the NAACP.

Youth nominees

Eight Bloomington youths and four Normal youths have been nominated for the "I Have a Dream" award. They are:

Bloomington: Oludayo "Dayo" Ajayi, Markus Brooks, Radience Campbell, Tanmay Shah and Malik Woods, all of Normal Community High School; Jordyn Blyth and Jordynn Palmer, both of University High School; and Kianna A. King, Bloomington High School.

Normal: Lokesh Julakanti and Keerthi C. Amballa, both of NCHS; Kristina Smith, Normal Community West High School; and Imani Gilbert, University High School.

Bishop to Address King Awards Luncheon Jan. 17

In February 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pondered the progress of U.S. race relations during an address at Illinois Wesleyan University. Next month will provide an opportunity for the Twin Cities to revisit that question and celebrate those who've helped improve human relations in the community.

Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie

Consider joining the Human Relations Commissions of Bloomington and Normal for the 39th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Awards Luncheon from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, January 17. The event will be held at Illinois State University's Bone Student Center and tickets to the event are $20 per ticket or $200 for a reserved table (maximum of 10 per table).

This year's speaker will be Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie who, in 2000, became the first female elected as bishop in the 200-year history of the African Methodist Episcopal Church denomination. Among her other accomplishments Bishop McKenzie is an author and served as a advisor to President Obama on faith-based and neighborhood initiatives. In addition, she is a lifetime member of the NAACP and former National Chaplain for Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

In addition, the Human Relations Commissions will award one student and one adult for contributions to the cause of bettering human relations in the community at the luncheon.

Tickets for the January 17 luncheon are on sale at Bloomington City Hall (call 309-434-2468 and Normal City Hall (call 309-434-9503). 

Meanwhile, listen to King's 1966 speech (courtesy of WJBC), or read its text, at https://www.iwu.edu/news/2006/KingSpeech1.html.