Review Bainbridge Island
THE BEST OF THE BEST: BIFD names Firefighters of the Year. A2
FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2013 | Vol. 113, No. 1 | www.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.com | 75¢
Four generations speak of the legacy Rev. King left behind Former classmate of civil rights leader and current BHS students come together for MLK Jr. Day Speakers at the Voices of Four Generations event include (clockwise from top) Ali Saunders, Rev. Dr. Samuel Berry McKinney, Rep. Drew Hansen, Patricia Moncure Thomas and Dr. Rosie Rimando Chareunsap.
BY CECILIA GARZA Bainbridge Island Review
It is Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s voice that is remembered today as one of the strongest megaphones of American courage — a voice that was able to move crowds to take to the streets and use their own voice. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed,” spoke King in late August of 1963. “‘We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal.’” On Jan. 9, the voices of four generations will be hosting “Carrying on ‘The Dream’ of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” in honor of the late reverend’s birthday. Of those speaking are Rev. Dr. Samuel Berry McKinney, a former classmate and close friend of King; and Ali Saunders, a senior at Bainbridge High School and the
president of BHS’ United Brothers and Sisters Club. They sit at opposite ends of time. One’s voice rings with the sound of a history some need to be reminded of. The latter’s voice speaks of the tribulations of a modern society that doesn’t stray too far from the tree. McKinney and King met, as
McKinney says it, when they were both “youngsters” before college. Both their fathers were pastors and sometimes they would go to church meetings together. Like King’s father, McKinney’s father confronted civil rights issues in his sermons. “My father was strong on social justice issues,” McKinney says.
“So I guess it was since then in my DNA.” But, after serving in the military, it was when McKinney returned to Atlanta to attend school at Morehouse College alongside King that they became closer friends. It was also during their years at Morehouse that the discourse of racial injustice began to ingrain itself into their theological studies. Morehouse, a Baptist college, See mlk, A11
The Year Ahead | Newsmakers, storylines to watch in 2013 Sheryl Gordon McCloud to take seat on state Supreme Court BY CECILIA GARZA Bainbridge Island Review
Photo courtesy of Sheryl Gordon McCloud
Bainbridge Island resident Sheryl Gordon McCloud will assume the Position 9 seat on the Washington Supreme Court starting Jan. 14.
Constitutional rights are what first drove Sheryl Gordon McCloud to pursue law as a young woman during the ’70s. So when Washington Supreme Court Justice Tom Chambers announced he would be retiring at the end of 2012, it seemed like the logical next step for her to announce she would be running to take over his seat. McCloud has been doing
appellate work for more than 24 years and in doing so, she has handled cases before the high court for much of her career. But starting Jan. 14, she will be taking a seat on the other side of the bench as a state Supreme Court justice. “It’s a change from being an advocate to hearing both sides equally,” McCloud said. On the Supreme Court, McCloud will be hearing cases and appellate cases that question the U.S. Constitution and federal laws. As a lawyer who first served as a public defender and now works from her own Seattlebased law firm, McCloud has raised issues from privacy rights and women’s
stitutional rights to workrights of the place rights “It’s a change from people that and the First Amendment. being an advocate she thinks won her the It is protecting to hearing both Position 9 the most basic sides equally.” seat. of individual Sheryl Gordon McCloud McCloud rights and Incoming state Supreme Court first started upholding the Justice from Bainbridge Island nurturing a Constitution passion for that she looks law when forward to the most by becoming a state she attended high school in Queens, New York City at Supreme Court justice. “I never thought of run- Springfield Gardens High ning a campaign because School. From 1968 to 1972, I never saw myself as a politi- McCloud not only participated in demonstrations against cian,” says McCloud. Instead, McCloud had the Vietnam War but took a always envisioned herself stance to support women’s rights on her school campus. getting appointed as a judge. But it was this mental- She and her peers fought for ity against political gain and the right to wear pants at respect toward the con- school by boycotting skirts
during the winter. “I know it doesn’t seem like an issue now,” McCloud says of that student movement. “But it was cold. It gets below 20 degrees during the winter in New York City.” She also helped push for sex education to be a requirement for freshmen students, when before public schools made students wait until their senior year. The fact was, pregnancy-related dropouts were a problem before students hit their senior year, she said. McCloud took this attitude into college where she graduated with honors at the State University of New York at Buffalo. And after a stint at See newsmakers, A7