by Shawn Nowlin
When people do impactful work in the community for the right reasons, it does not go unnoticed.
On Jan. 17, the Roanoke Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) conducted its annual holiday luncheon. Now in its 29th year, this year’s celebration took place at the Shenandoah Club. More than 175 guests attended the affair.
Professor Dennis C. Sweet IV, Director of Civil Rights and Racial Justice Clinic at Washington and Lee University, was the keynote speaker.
“Dr. Martin Luther King was a great man, and I’m honored to stand on his shoulders. I’m coming here from Mississippi. We call Mississippi ‘the belly of the beast.’ I had a lot of battles there. When I came to Roanoke, I did so not as a tourist, but as an ally,” Sweet said. “Right now, I have nine clinicians and they are all dedicated to doing something about the injustices we too often see.”
Presiding over the affair was Dr. Nathaniel L. Saniyah Cotton displayed her vocal skills with a powerful solo performance and a special presentation was delivered by Mayor Joe Cobb. Throughout the event, nine award recipients were recognized for their community efforts.
Receiving the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drum Major for Justice Awards was: Michael Crawley, the first Black Sergeant in the history of the Vinton Police Department; Donna Davis, Director of Community Engagement for Goodwill Industries of the Valleys; Angela Penn, President & CEO of Total Action for Progress (TAP) and Hannah Stevens, manager Local Office on Aging (LOA).
Community Service Awards were presented to: Alice Cooper Johnson, retired Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority official; Rev. Dr. David Jones, Pastor of Williams Memorial Baptist Church; Barbara Pendegrass Richmond and Sue Ranson, past presidents of Church Women United in the Roanoke Valley. Also Dr. Charmaine Bonds, TAP Head Start Education Coordinator was resipient of the Dr. Perneller Chubb-Wilson Award.
“I come from a family of strong Black women with a voice. I’m grateful for my mom, who is no longer with us. She passed six years ago. Everything I do is not just for my family, but specifically my daughter, who is here with me today,” Bonds said. “I am going to continue working with our little ones because I am teaching our future leaders of tomorrow.”
During her very moving comments Donna Davis said “To receive this award from an organization born out of sacrifice and fearless leadership is truly humbling. SCLC represents more than history, it represents a living commitment to justice and dignity. Much of my heart and hope lives at Melrose Plaza. More than a building, Melrose Plaza is a promise to communities long overlooked that they are worthy of investment.”
“I don’t know a time in my 67 years when I’ve felt more of what Dr. King referred to as ‘the fierce urgency of now.’ I hope that all of us will embrace the urgency of this moment, our nation and our community by coming together and sharing our collective responsibility,” Jones said.
In keeping with tradition, the yearly occasion concluded with all in attendance singing “We Shall Overcome.”
The program was dedicated to Patricia Hancock, a longtime Roanoke Chapter SCLC Life Member who passed in March 2024 at 72.
