Wilson Scholars Awarded At MLK Day Breakfast

Miami FL

20 January, 2021

7:54 AM

Description

By Bianca Marcof, Miami Times Contributor Lonnie G. Bunch III, 14th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and founding director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture was honored at the 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast on Jan. 18, 2021./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, the Miami Times Jan 19, 2021 Forty-five Wilson scholars, named after Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, were awarded college scholarships to mark their completion of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence mentorship program on Monday morning at the 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship Breakfast. Due to COVID-19, this year was the first time the event was held virtually. In previous years, attendees gathered in a packed ballroom, ate breakfast and dressed in white shirts and red ties. The annual event this year honored "History Makers," including Vice President Kamala Harris, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump and Florida Lottery Secretary John Davis. Close 1 of 4 Then Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was named Woman of the Year by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, during the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save Congresswoman Frederica Wilson recognized and commended Mayor Daniella Levine Cava as the first female mayor of Miami-Dade County during the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project's 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save John F. Davis, Florida Lottery secretary and an inaugural member of the Florida Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, was recognized as a history maker on Jan. 18, 2021, by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake, was inducted into the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project on MLK Day./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Save History Makers 1 of 4 Then Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was named Woman of the Year by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021, during the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Congresswoman Frederica Wilson recognized and commended Mayor Daniella Levine Cava as the first female mayor of Miami-Dade County during the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project's 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast on Monday, Jan. 18, 2021./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project John F. Davis, Florida Lottery secretary and an inaugural member of the Florida Council on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys, was recognized as a history maker on Jan. 18, 2021, by Congresswoman Frederica Wilson./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the families of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake, was inducted into the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project on MLK Day./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project "My fundamental belief is that each and every one of us has extraordinary capacity for success and achievement," said Harris as she addressed the virtual crowd. "Each of us is filled with extraordinary promise just waiting to be unleashed. The only difference is some of us have more support and more opportunities to unleash that potential than others." Harris, the first Black woman elected vice president, reminded students that now that they are part of the Role Models club, others will be watching and will try to follow in their footsteps. "Believe in yourself every day. Don't let anyone tell you that no one like you has done it before or it's not your time," she said. "Let me tell you something, I eat 'no' for breakfast. So dream with ambition, lead with conviction, and see yourselves and know yourself to be whatever you want." In his keynote speech, Bunch, who is the first Black American historian to serve as head of the Smithsonian, stressed the importance of history and the American story, which is full of hope from generations "who stood strong in the face of discrimination and fought for the American dream for an America yet to be." Lonnie G. Bunch III, 14th secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and founding director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture was honored at the 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast on Jan. 18, 2021./5000 Role Models of Excellence Project "Understanding history inspires us, it challenges us, forces us to help demand a country live up to its stated ideals," he said. "It makes us make America, be the America of our dreams. I'm so proud of and excited for today's Wilson scholars, because in pursuing education you are standing on the shoulders of many and you carry that hope forward, and my hope for you, my hope for all of us, is that in moments of difficulty as we face losses and challenges that may seem unbearable, we dip into that reservoir of history, we use history to find the power to push forward for change." The virtual event also featured speeches from Dade County Chamber of Commerce President and CEO G. Eric Knowles, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Kionne McGhee, elder Kenneth Duke of New Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church, 5000 Role Models President J.D. Patterson, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, and Miami-Dade County Public Schools Vice Chair Dr. Steve Gallon III and Superintendent Alberto Carvalho. The breakfast began with an introductory speech from then President-elect Joe Biden, who addressed the students' hard work and how they have already proven that they have what it takes to succeed, and that this was only the beginning. "You're rising up and showing the world what you're made of, but you've still got work ahead of you … For now, it's time to celebrate. I'm so proud of you for everything you've accomplished so far and I'm expecting big things from you in the future. We need you. We're depending on you to make this country everything in order to be for all people," Biden told the students. Founded in 1993 by Wilson, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project focuses on mentoring at-risk boys to guide them along a path to college and the future. Wilson, a former Miami-Dade County school teacher, principal and board member, said the idea came to her as a school principal. She often found that the boys in her school needed role models to look up to. "I began to question [the students] and ask them, 'Why don't you listen to your teacher? Why don't you do your homework?' Every time I sat down in my office to have a conference with a parent or teacher, it was because of a Black boy, so I knew that this had to stop," she said. "I began to do home visits and I found out that most of these boys didn't have one male in their lives. They did not have a grandpa, an uncle, a daddy, no one to actually teach them how to behave or who they could mimic or try to be like." When Wilson became a school board member she presented the idea for the project during a meeting. Now, 28 years later, the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project puts students "on the right track to greatness," said Wilson. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.