Former MLK Committee Scholarship Winner Speaks; Current Winner to Study Criminal Justice

ABOVE: (1st Picture) Reverend Katrese Kirk McKenzie delivers her “Use What You Got” message during the “Cultivating Joy” Martin Luther King, Jr community service at St. James United Methodist Church.  (2nd Picture) MLK Committee $4,000 scholarship winner Davari Boyd is congratulated by Celebration Committee Chair Elder Tyson Parks, Jr.

On the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Holiday; the MLK Committee Scholarship winner from 2000 returned as the keynote speaker, during the annual community wide service at St. James United Methodist Church.  In a resounding half-hour sermon, she asked everyone to “Use What You Got” to serve the City of Danville, no matter what your talents may be.  The Reverend Katrese Kirk McKenzie also wished her best to this year’s $4,000 scholarship winner, Danville High School senior Davari Boyd.  He’s been accepted at both Eastern Illinois and Indiana State.  And whichever one he chooses, he plans to major in Criminal Justice and return to Danville as a police officer.  Boyd says he wants to lead a mentor group for young people, saying that his interest in criminal justice began when he was younger.  Boyd recalled in his winning essay he delivered that it seemed he and his peers, like Dr. King often spoke of, were being viewed through a different lens.  He wants to help youngsters overcome that.

AUDIO: (Such as) being in a store with a group of your friends and being looked at suspiciously and stuff.  So I want to be in the system, making a difference from the other side.  Eventually I want to settle down and make a mentor group to help young kids like myself who need guidance.  I was actually in a group that helped me figure out what I wanted to do, and get myself ready for college.  I’d like to see that happen again one day, and help the kids in the community.

(1st Picture) MLK Scholarship winner Devari Boyd delivers his essay.  (2nd Picture) Scholarship runner-up Josiah Hoskins accepts a $1,000 grant from Elder Tyson Parks, Jr.  (3rd Picture) Danville’s Mayor Rickey Williams, Jr addresses those in attendance at St. James United Methodist Church.

The MLK Committee also gave a $1,000 grant to this year’s runner-up, DHS senior Josiah Hoskins.  Hoskins explained what his essay was about.

AUDIO: Almost like my passion that I have for unity.  And my passion for our equality.  And I said that regardless of who you are, where you came from; equalness between all of us.

Hoskins plans to attend Danville Area Community College this coming fall, and pursue a career in physical therapy.

The Reverend Katrese Kirk McKenzie, now serving as Itinerant Elder at the African Methodist Episcopal Church and member of the Chicago Conference, recalled how the MLK Scholarship kick-started her college education, at Wilberforce University in Ohio.

AUDIO: The important thing it did for me is open doors; not just to receive an undergraduate degree, but to be exposed to so much more.  It gave me the opportunity to see so many other amazing things in the world that shaped me.  Which is why I was so grateful when they allowed me to come back.  Because I hope it can inspire that young man who received the scholarship today, to know that there are unlimited possibilities for him.

(1st Picture) MLK Program Chair Sandra Finch, with MLK Celebration Committee Chair Elder Tyson Parks, Jr looking on, gives a special tribune to Mary Thompson (2nd Picture) for her 25 years as Chairwoman of the MLK Committee.

Also during the “Cultivating Joy” community wide service on the day of the Dr. King Holiday, a special presentation was made to Mary Thompson, in honor of her 25 years serving as Chairwoman of the MLK Committee.