For the second year in a row, the city of Martin and the University of Tennessee at Martin will host a Black History awards luncheon, titled “Voices from the Past.”
The event is scheduled to take place Friday, Feb. 21, at the Martin Events Center in the Martin Public Library. The luncheon will begin at 11:45 a.m. Tickets are $12, and lunch will be provided. RSVP on the City of Martin Facebook page. Pre-registration is required through Eventbrite, which is accessible through the City of Martin website calendar.
The event is a collaborative effort with the City of Martin, Town & Gown, the University of Tennessee at Martin and the UT Martin Black Student Association.
Kameron Echols, the director of Multicultural Affairs and one of the planners for this event, said that the goal of the luncheon is to uplift and celebrate community champions.
Awards that will be presented at the event include the Harold Conner Award from the City of Martin, the Torch award from the Black Student Association and the Alpha award from the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
“Typically, the awards are given to people who have stood up for justice or for civil rights, or just people who have been a very good advocate for students on campus or in the community,” Echols said.
The luncheon will start with a short meeting held by City of Martin Mayor Randy Brundige and UT Martin Chancellor Yancy Freeman that will disclose university and city updates, and then move to the more formal awards program.
The awards program will open with a short keynote from Marchell Gardner, a 2013 graduate from UT Martin in interdisciplinary studies and a staff nurse with Maxim Healthcare, who will share how her career has been shaped by the mentors she has met in Martin.
Gardner’s daughter, Amy Patrice Gardner, graduated from UT Martin in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in management, and her husband, Raymond Russell Gardner, graduated from UTM in 1985 with a Master of Business Administration degree and in 2012 with a degree in interdisciplinary studies.
The event highlights the Black history of Martin and Weakley County, and awards community members who have paved the way for future generations in the Martin community.
“I think promoting and teaching as much history to our students as possible is valuable, especially when you have people who come to a city to live in for three or four years, and they don’t know the history,” Echols said.
“I came from Memphis, and when I got here, I was immersed into the culture of Martin, not just UTM. It was eye-opening; there is a very rich history here,”
For registration information or other information about the event, visit the cityofmartin.net, click on “Calendar” and click on “Voices from the Past Luncheon,” or call the Martin City Hall at 731-587-3126.
PHOTO: Kameron Echols, director of Multicultural Affairs, is shown speaking at last year’s Black History Presentation.
