Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Awards Meted Out At Banquet

A packed Prescott Middle School cafetorium was told we need to work together by Tracy Steele Saturday night.

This was at the Seventh Annual Ila Upchurch Banquet, where Steele, director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission of Little Rock, was the keynote speaker.

Steele's address preceded the main reason for the banquet, naming the educator of the year, the citizen of the year, presenting two higher education awards and most importantly, the Ila Upchurch Scholarship.

Hyacinth Deon was named educator of the year by the corporation, but was not present to accept her plaque.

The Rev. Joe Battle, whose Prescott Fire Choir entertained the audience, received the community service award.

The Higher Education of Red River Technical College Awards went to Sam Wiley and Benjamin David Hamilton.

Three people applied for the Ila Upchurch Scholarship and presented the judges with a difficult decision. However, Tiffany Franklin was presented the honor for 1996.

Steele told the audience the Upchurch Banquet was a worthy cause, and Ila Upchurch would be proud of how her work is being continued.

He said the MLK Commission began two-and-a-half years ago as an entity to plan events for the King Holiday. However, King's work was too important to be left up to one weekend a year and the commission was born.

The Arkansas-based commission, Steele said, has received national recognition for its efforts to continue the teachings of Dr. King, and has been lauded by Coretta Scott King, Dr. King's widow.

Steele said the commission was not created to help find another Dr. King, nor is its director a replacement for him. "That's impossible," he said. "I am an ordinary person trying to carry on the work of an extraordinary individual."

According to Steele, if Dr. King were alive today, his primary concern would be the plight of young people. "This is where we decided to focus our efforts," he said."

One of the commission's first accomplishments has been to form a Martin Luther King Foundation, which is another vehicle to get and keep Dr. King's message before the people.

"We need to continue to uplift our young people," Steele said. "Most (young people) are doing just fine. They're getting an education and playing by the rules. We need to take every opportunity to uplift them.

"As we do this," he continued, "we will uplift other young people who have not found their way."

Steele quoted statistics saying less than 10 percent of the juveniles are responsible for 90 percent of the crimes committed by young people. "The vast number are getting in trouble repeatedly," he said. "We need to stop this cycle.

"There are too many in trouble, who have lost their way. Too many are apathetic, lack respect for authority and are violent. Too many are frustrated, confused and undereducated."

These young people have their priorities out of whack, Steele said. They spend money foolishly. "They pay $60 for a haircut for an empty head, or $120 for shoes on feet going nowhere."

Steele added some more alarming statistics to the tally. He said one out of every three African-American male is either on parole or probation, and one of every four child is being raised in a one parent household.

The three major problems in schools today, he said, are drugs, sexually transmitted diseases and dropping out of school. Fourth on the list is violence.

"Too many of our young people are part of the `less' generation. They are jobless, hopeless, Godless and fatherless," he said.

These young people, Steele continued, are not just financially poor, they are morally poor as well.

"As we look at the problems," he told the throng, "we need to see what we can do and realize we must work together. We're all in this struggle together.

"What affects one of us directly, affects all of us indirectly."

Racism, he said, is alive and well and needs to be addressed. "Our differences can be our blessings. Race relations in Arkansas and America are as dirty as ever," Steel continued. "They aren't as overt as they were, but they're still there.

"We need to build on our differences; to stay involved and encourage others to be involved. We need to use time to our advantage because the longer we wait the more young people we will lose. We need to help one another.

"We've been through a lot as a nation, but we can save our children."

Henry Foster told the audience the most important thing they can do is to use their vote.

He said it is important for voters to look at the person they are voting for; to learn about this candidate; but to cast their ballot.

"We need to come together as a people and make the right choices for the primary and general election," he said. "You don't need to ask others who to vote for, but decide for yourself."