Keeping the legacy alive: Celebration honors those following Martin Luther King Jr.’s message

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Tomorrow Allen, of Niagara Falls, holds her 1-year-old son Asa Allen Collins during the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration at the Niagara Falls High School’s Performing Arts Center. Close to 200 people attended the annual event.
The Niagara Falls Police Department Color Guard opens the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration at the Niagara Falls High Performing Arts Center on Thursday.
Flanked by Judie Gregory, the Niagara Falls City School District's public relations director, Lana Benatovich, president of the National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York speaks during the King celebration on Thursday.

January 12, 2012

By Timothy Chipp Niagara Gazette The Niagara Gazette Thu Jan 12, 2012, 11:27 PM EST

NIAGARA FALLS — The message of the night was simple. Keep alive the legacy and wishes of Martin Luther King Jr., the civil rights icon of the 1960s whose “I Have A Dream” speech is forever part of the American culture.

But doing so is easier said than done for most. Not for three members of the Niagara Falls community — and two from Cheektowaga.

Marquis Siner, a senior at the city’s high school, long-time city school district employee Ron Cunningham and Juliette Thomas, a woman who makes life bearable for countless people the world over through her good deeds, all received awards at this year’s 25th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration on Thursday.

“(King) was a man for all seasons,” Cunningham said as he accepted his Civil Rights Achievement Award, presented to him by last year’s recipient Owen Steed.

The theme of the night was promoting acceptance. The organizers felt it especially important following a five-month period where bullying and torment have become national news after both the Jamey Rodemeyer incident in September, where the ninth-grade Williamsville student took his own life following increased torture over being gay, and a New York City girl took her own life jumping in front of a train after being bullied on the Internet.

“Our ability to accept people’s differences has to grow,” committee member and event Master of Ceremonies Judie Gregory said. “We have to appreciate the perspective of someone different from ourselves.”

Before any of the normal awards were handed out, the city high school’s student council dedicated a special award, and made honorary Wolverines — the school’s nickname — of both Emily Tout and Hanna Foss, two Cleveland Hill students who exemplified courage and friendship.

Tout suffers from a disorder called alopecia, which causes her to go bald. She was the subject of bullying in school until one of her classmates, Foss, shaved her head in solidarity with her friend.

While the students at Cleveland Hill were popular with the crowd for their courage, a real Wolverine was certainly the most well-received. Siner, a member of the high school’s basketball team, was presented the Youth Civil Rights Achievement Award, after his peers and the staff at the school were polled.

Dolores Pereira, last year’s recipient, presented Siner his award.

“He’s a true peacemaker,” she said of the senior.

He took the opportunity to thank his grandmother, whom he said he was hoping to make proud.

Rev. Joseph Levesque, the president of Niagara University, presented the Spirit of Dr. King Award to Thomas, a woman he called “a friend of the worldwide community.”

Thomas, through her mission she began with her father, has been providing food, clothing and shelter to underprivileged children in Niagara Falls and around the globe for many years.

In 2002, Thomas began providing footwear through her Project Angel Shoes program to individuals in Third World areas. The program has grown through the help of the Cave of the Winds attraction to provide 5,000 shoes each week to areas like Honduras, Senegal, Nigeria, Haiti and to survivors of Hurricane Katrina.

Thomas suffered five strokes in 2011, which has limited her recent productivity. But the work is still done with help from various students at Niagara University and other area organizations.

“For six months I didn’t know if I was going to make it,” she said. “It’s taken me six months to get back on my feet. I thank God for that.”

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