past speakers
Since 2000, the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration has featured speakers who keep alive King's spirit and continue his legacy through their work in civil rights, social justice and equality.
Past speakers for this event include:
2009: Keith Beauchamp
Keith Beauchamp was 10 years old when he first developed an interest in the life and death of Emmett Till. He would later create a film about Till's life, death and the subsequent trial. Determined to play a role in righting this historical wrong it took Beauchamp more than ten years to complete the film The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till.
2008: Ernest Green
Born in Little Rock, Ark., Sept. 22, 1941, Ernest Green earned his high school diploma from Little Rock Central High School. He and eight other black students were the first to integrate Central High following the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education which declared segregation illegal.
2007: Joan Southgate
If anyone has "walked the walk" for social justice, it's CWRU alumna Joan Southgate. In 2002 the retired social worker walked 519 miles, following the Underground Railroad from southern Ohio to Lake Erie to honor the arduous and dangerous path to freedom walked by her ancestors.
2006: Fred D. Gray
Fred Gray Sr., a Case Western Reserve alumnus and emeritus trustee distinguished himself over the decades as a quiet hero in the civil rights movement. Gray was King's first civil rights lawyer, and his career includes notable civil rights-related cases. He represented Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a segregated city bus in Montgomery, Ala. The action led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and resulted in city buses being integrated in 1956.
2005: The Three Doctors
The Three Doctors formed a nonprofit foundation with a mission to inspire and create opportunities through education, mentoring and health awareness. They speak to youths and audiences around the country about their experiences, and are the authors of the book The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream.
2004: Rev. Valentino Lassiter
Author of the book Martin Luther King in the African American Preaching Tradition; assistant professor of religious studies at John Carroll University.
2003: Andre Thornton
Former Cleveland Indians All-Star; nationally-known speaker
2002: Joe Rogers
Former Lt. Gov. of Colorado; youngest lieutenant governor in the country and highest ranking African American elected state official (at the time)
2001: Rev. Otis Moss Jr.
Pastor of Cleveland's Olivet Institutional Baptist Church since 1975; active participant in the civil rights movement; national board member and trustee of the MLK Jr. Center for Non Violent Change
2000: Fr. J-Glenn Murray
Director of the Office for Pastoral Liturgy of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland
1999: John M. Swomley
Social activist and civil rights and liberties teacher; writer; was involved with Dr. King in the civil rights activities in Montgomery, Ala.
1998: Fred D. Gray
Civil rights attorney; served as attorney for Dr. King and Rosa Parks; Case Western Reserve alumnus who received his JD in 1954
1997: Stephanie Tubbs Jones
Former Cuyahoga County prosecutor; double alumnae of Case Western Reserve (BA 1971; Law 1974)
1996: Jawanza Kunjufu
Author and educational consultant; has written several books, including Black Economics: Solutions for Community and Economic Empowerment
1995: Nikki Giovanni
Author and poet; nationally-known speaker
1994: Julia Hare
Educational psychologist, motivational specialist and authority on young African American children
remembering a leader»
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who headlined the 1997 celebration, was an alumna and an advocate for social equality. Read remembrances of Tubbs Jones and watch her tribute.