Pulitzer-Prize-Winning Author to Speak at Realizing the Dream Banquet

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hank Klibanoff will be the speaker for the third annual Legacy Banquet hosted by the Martin Luther King Jr. Realizing the Dream Committee and the Tuscaloosa Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

The event, which will be at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14, at the Hotel Capstone, pays tribute to those individuals who have made and continue to make significant contributions to the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tickets are $25 per individual or $150 for a table of eight. For information, phone 205/348-7111.

Klibanoff grew up witnessing the civil rights movement and the evolution of race relations in the South. Those experiences, along with his 35 years as a newspaper reporter and editor in Mississippi and at the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, were key influences. He also co-wrote “The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation.” The book won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for history.

Klibanoff now is the managing editor of the Civil Rights Cold Case Project (www.coldcases.org) and is the James M. Cox Jr. Professor of Journalism at Emory University in Atlanta. He is a graduate of Coffee High School in Florence and Washington University in St. Louis, where he received his degree in English. Klibanoff studied journalism at the Medill School of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

Honorees at the banquet will be Sean L. Hudson, who will receive the Horizon Award; Harrison L. Taylor, who will receive the Call to Conscience Award; and William H. Lanford, who will receive the Mountaintop Award.

Hudson, a sophomore majoring in social work and psychology at UA, will receive the Realizing the Dream 2011 Horizon Award, which is presented to a youth or young adult in the community for demonstrating outstanding vision and hope that promotes social justice, equality and peace. Hudson grew up in Bessemer in the foster care system. His mission is to become a family court judge and show the world that children in foster care have no limits to what they can accomplish. During his freshman year, Hudson was elected president of the Dedicated Responsible Empowered and Motivated Council, vice president of Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society, assistant director of Up Till Dawn, clerk for the Student Judiciary Board and undergraduate research apprentice for the UA School of Social Work. Hudson also participated in the UA Honors College Emerging Scholars Program. As president of the DREAM Council, Hudson travels statewide telling young people his story and encouraging them to make the best of their situations. Hudson was the only foster student from Alabama named a 2010 Outstanding Young Leader. For details, see http://www.ua.edu/features/findyourpassion/fostercare.html

Taylor, president of the Tuscaloosa City Council, will receive the Realizing the Dream 2011 Call to Conscience Award. The award is presented to an individual in the community for demonstrating outstanding leadership and courage that help to establish social justice, equality and peace. Taylor has been involved in some of Tuscaloosa’s most noted improvements in race relations and social justice. He was at First African Baptist Church in 1964 when it was tear-gassed and African-Americans there were beaten after a group of black residents went to Tuscaloosa’s new courthouse to drink from its water fountains and use its restrooms. Now, Taylor serves as Tuscaloosa’s first African-American president of a majority white council in a majority white city. He has served on the council since 1993, representing District 2. Taylor graduated from Druid High School and Shelton State Community College and is a U.S. Army veteran. He also spent 34 years with the U.S. Postal Service. He holds memberships in the Alabama Democratic Conference, NAACP, executive board of the Children Hands-On Museum, and the executive board of A Woman’s Place. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors for People Fighting Hunger and is chairman of the YMCA Men’s Club Barnes Branch. For details, see http://www.ci.tuscaloosa.al.us/index.aspx?NID=78.

Lanford, CEO, civic leader and former elected city official, will receive the Realizing the Dream 2011 Mountaintop Award. The lifetime achievement award is presented to an individual in the community who has demonstrated an unyielding commitment to the dream and who, in so doing, has furthered the cause for social justice, equality and peace. In 1975, Lanford became a member of the city Board of Education, where he served 10 years. As board chairman, Lanford led during desegregation phases that resulted in a more progressive system to meet the needs of all children. In 1985, he was elected to the first of two terms on the Tuscaloosa City Council, which had just changed from a commission to mayor-council form of government. His leadership as council president resulted in a smooth transition to a new form of government and a more inclusive and result-oriented local government. In 1999, he retired as president and chief executive officer of Southland National Insurance Co. His civic involvement includes United Way, American Red Cross, Black Warrior Council of the Boy Scouts, United Negro College Fund and the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. He is a graduate of The University of Alabama and a veteran of the U.S. Army. For details, see http://www.tuscaloosachamber.com/tuscaloosa/civic_hall_of_fame_04.php

The Martin Luther King Jr. Realizing the Dream Committee is comprised of faculty and staff from Shelton State Community College, Stillman College and The University of Alabama. The committee’s mission is to raise consciousness about injustice and promote equality, peace and social justice by creating educational and cultural opportunities for growth, empowerment and social change so that every person may experience the bounty of life’s abundant possibilities.