Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College is now accepting nominations for the 2010 Spirit of Unity Award. The purpose is to recognize a civil rights and human rights activist on the Coast in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of the Beloved Community. Nominees must be Mississippi Gulf Coast residents working toward the elimination of hunger, poverty, homelessness, discrimination, bigotry, racism or prejudice on the Coast.
“King popularized the term ‘The Beloved Community,’ and gave it a deeper meaning that has captured the imagination of people world-wide,” said LeeAnn Gunn-Rasmussen, chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration Committee at Gulf Coast’s Jefferson Davis Campus, where she teaches social studies. “It was not a lofty ideal for him but rather a realistic, achievable goal. In his Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness are not tolerated. Racism, discrimination, bigotry and prejudice are gone. International disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution instead of by military power. Love, trust, peace and justice will prevail.”
The award, given in conjunction with Gulf Coast’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in January, will be presented at the "He Took a Stand. Will you?” event on Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. in the Jefferson Davis Campus Fine Arts Auditorium. Nominations for the award will be accepted through Jan. 13 at www.mgccc.edu.
For more information, contact Rasmussen at 228-897-3798 or leeann.rasmussen@mgccc.edu.
