The 37th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast

Hartford Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc Presents 37th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Scholarship Breakfast

GENERATION NEXT….Speak truth to power Their future is in their hands

Artwork by Ravynn Perez First Grader at O’Connell School East Hartford, ct

MESSAGE FROM CHAPTER PRESIDENT

Good Morning. On behalf of the 110 members of the Hartford Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., I extend to you a heartfelt welcome to the 37th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast. Although we are in another season of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are grateful for the opportunity to share with you in our second virtual VODCAST. Thank you for your continued support of one of our signature programs where we gather to honor the legacy of Dr. King and invest in African American females as they pursue higher education.

In 2021, we brought together a powerful group of panelists who discussed Civils Rights: A Movement or Moment. Where Deacon Arthur Miller of St. Mary’s Church (in Simsbury) urged the next generations to take ownership of the world in which they live by continuing to challenge the status quo. This year’s sequel provides the opportunity for a group of young adults to share their perspectives on the challenges and changes needed to help ensure a better future for the soul of America. I am excited to hear from these young activists as Generation Next: Speaking Truth to Power. In the words of Senator John Lewis, it’s time for us to “get in good trouble, necessary trouble” as we continue the work to ensure that every person is guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

The Hartford Alumnae Chapter along with the assistance of our community and corporate partners is thankful to be a part of the village that supports the achievements, dreams, and hope of young African American women in our community.

Sincerely,

LaKisha Grant-Washington, EdD President, Hartford Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

PROGRAM “The mind is the standard of a man” Dr Martin Luther King, Jr

INTRODUCTION Joelle A. Murchison, Mistress of Ceremonies NEGRO NATIONAL ANTHEM Lift Every Voice & Sing Song by Tory Westbrook, Senior - Fisk University Written in 1900 by James Weldon Johnson Adopted by the NAACP in 1920s as official Negro National Anthem INVOCATION Deacon Arthur Miller St Mary’s Catholic Church, Simsbury, CT WELCOME LaKisha Grant-Washington, EdD President, Hartford Alumnae Chapter GREETINGS Select Political Leaders Elsie Cooke-Holmes National 1st Vice President Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. SCHOLARSHIP PRESENTATION K’ylah Flynn 2015 Scholarship Recipient

PROGRAM I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

SPOKEN WORD Tracy Caldwell Mind.Evolution SELECTION Destiny Song by University of Connecticut Gospel Choir PURPOSE Deloris Johnson Drakes INTRODUCTION OF PANEL Joelle A. Murchison PANEL DISCUSSION PANEL COMMENTARY Deacon Arthur Miller CLOSING REMARKS Joelle A. Murchison BENEDICTION Deacon Arthur Miller TRIBUTE TO VICTIMS

BIOGRAPHIES Jasmine Powell is a senior at Brown University studying Public Health and Urban Studies. She is also a student in the Program in Liberal Medical Education, which is Brown’s combined eight-year combined BA-MD program. Jasmine is originally from the greater Philadelphia area, where she found her voice during her teenage years through her involvement in local advocacy work with girls’ rights organizations. Since matriculating to Brown, she has continued this work through her involvement with various organizations both on campus and in the greater Providence community, including Women’s Refugee Care, the Community Health Advocacy Program (CHAP), and Brown College Democrats. During her junior year, she served as the President of Brown College Democrats, which is the University's largest political organization. A Fall 20 initiate of the Lambda Iota Chapter, Jasmine has continued to build on her passions for service and social justice within Delta.

She currently serves as the President of the Lambda Iota Chapter and is also a member of the Eastern Region Social Action Committee, where she serves as the Collegiate Cluster Facilitator representing Connecticut and the Tri-State. Jasmine is passionate about finding ways to better support women and girls of color and looks forward to a career in medicine, working to bring innovative solutions to health policy and address the social context of health and disease.

Devonna

Dionne is a Marketing & Communications Professional. Devonna currently works as Director of Marketing & Communications at EdAdvance, one of the state’s six Regional Educational Service Centers. As an entrepreneur, Devonna produces strategic marketing plans to help other entrepreneurs and political figures tell stories, achieve an online presence, and build brands that communicate with their audience. Her areas of expertise include: Brand Review, Content Strategy, and Social Media Training. She serves as Vice Chair of the Middletown Democratic Town Committee, has worked as Campaign Manager for State Representative Q Phipps, and is a 2021 Recipient of the Ella Grasso Women‘s Leadership Award. Devonna is a proud resident of Middletown and even more proud Blue Devil, having received a B.S. in Business Management and MBA in Business Analytics from CCSU! She is a Beyoncé enthusiast and enjoys filling her free time with attending concerts and traveling.

BIOGRAPHIES Akia S. Callum serves as the Director of Community Impact & Marketing for Waterbury Bridge to Success (BTS) Community Partnership. As a seasoned brand architect, community organizer, political strategist, social justice advocate, trained results-based facilitator, and educator with 10+ years of experience. Akia knows how to move from systems change to systems transformation locally, statewide, and nationally. In her current role at the organization, Akia focuses on building relational capital through a multichannel, intergenerational, inclusive communications, and community engagement strategy. A proud daughter of immigrants and a Brooklyn native –– Akia believes relationship building is key. She developed a love for community, advocacy, and social justice at a young age through her work in the New York City Council. Since then, Akia founded the Black Student Union at Post University in 2015 and served in various leadership roles at premier organizations, including the NAACP on the state and national levels. Recently, Akia S. served as President of the Connecticut State Conference NAACP Youth & College Division and Chair of National Initiatives and Development for the NAACP National Youth Works Committee. In 2021, Akia became a founding member of the Connecticut Black Caucus. Her extensive experience in community organizing combined with her investment in a collective impact approach has supported community-identified needs and interests to dismantle systems of oppression. A lifelong learner and an Adjunct Professor at Post University. She is a Yale Access to Law Fellow and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Legal Studies as well as a Master's of Education with a concentration in curriculum and instruction from Post University.

Aaron Peterson is a second semester junior studying theater performance at Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, CT. Aaron believes transformative change is needed to preserve the future. For these reasons he defines himself as an actor and activist who is passionate about volunteer work and social change. He cheers at his college as well as for an all-star traveling team.

He enjoys social organizing, spending time with likeminded people as well as getting outdoors.

BIOGRAPHIES Deacon, author, radio host, revivalist and retired businessman, Deacon Art Miller is director of the Office for Black Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese of Hartford. In addition to his assigned parishes, he is also the Catholic chaplain at Hartford’s Capital Community College. A nationally known preacher of God’s Holy Scripture, he has traveled throughout the country raising the need of conversion to “Radical Love”. The kind of selfdenying love that can only be accomplished through the grace and power offered to us through Jesus Christ. Deacon Miller has preached throughout the United States – from New England to the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast of Mississippi, from the Rocky Mountains of northern New Mexico, to the south side of Chicago; he teaches and preaches Christ’s call to His life-changing “Radical Love”. At public forums, houses of worship, schools and universities across the country, Deacon Miller addresses issues of social injustice. With firsthand knowledge he speaks to his audiences from the perspective of an African American who grew up on the South Side of Chicago in the 1940s and 1950s. Deacon Miller was 10 years old in 1955 when his schoolmate Emmett Till, age 14, was brutally murdered in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman — an incident that energized the nascent Civil Rights Movement. His book, The Journey to Chatham (published by Author House, 2005), details the historic events seen through the eyes of Emmett’s friends. Today, Deacon Miller addresses 21st-century examples of the same intolerance. He is the Hartford Archdiocese representative to the Connecticut Coalition to Save Darfur, a group formed specifically to influence state, national, and international officials and institutions to use their political clout in education and to stop the conflict in Darfur, Sudan. Deacon Miller sees such racial divisiveness as an example of “human hatred that is the result of what happens when one group seeks power by dehumanization.” Echoing the thoughts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he believes that as part of the great human experience, no one can sit idly tolerant of the great injustices that happen anywhere in the world. “If God were to give us an 11th commandment,” Deacon Miller proposes, “I believe it would read: Thou shall not be a bystander.”

BIOGRAPHIES If Sampson's strength was in his hair, Mind.Evolution.'s strength is in her voice! Since 2000, Tracy Caldwell has made a name for herself as Mind.Evolution. A lifelong resident of Hartford, CT; Tracy Caldwell is a powerful voice for women, the community and people of color. This woman tells a story that transcends the space between the stage, the microphone and your ears.

She challenges the status quo and is at her best when she calls into the question the very things we hold true in this society. She unapologetically brings voice to the voiceless and will make you laugh and cry all at the same time. Displaying depth and complexity, Tracy’s work has graced stages from Connecticut to California, including the Apollo stage in Harlem, NY. A member of the 2014 and 2015 Connecticut Slam team Verbal Slap, she tackles many social issues in an accessible yet profound manner. Her personal stories inspire the audience to reflect upon the complicated issues that we often encounter throughout life. Her reflections on society and social justice are a call for attentiveness and action. Whether discussing body image, with her stage play The Thick Chronicles: A body Image Story, or the intersectionality of women’s issues and people of color, in her books Bare Naked and Exposure, Tracy lays out the cost of these issues on women and on society at large.

Her most recent endeavor has been to create an exclusive space for Black women, and women of color to gather safely, and fellowship about the challenges and rewards of being a woman of color in America with her Black Girl Studies. For more information on Mind.Evolution please visit www.thepoetme.com or follow her on Facebook (Mind.Evolution & MindEvolution University) and Instagram (Poet_MindEvolution)

2021 SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

SPONSOR RECOGNITION

SPONSOR RECOGNITION

SPONSOR RECOGNITION

Thank You Hartford Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc Delta