Nearly 37 years after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot to death on a Memphis hotel room balcony, his ideals live on in Secretary of State Colin Powell and his wife Alma. In a ceremony at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center on Monday, Georgetown University President Jack DeGioia presented Mr. and Mrs. Powell with the John Thompson Legacy of a Dream Award to honor their dedication to the Reverend’s vision of compassion and social justice.
“Dr. King challenged us to a new commitment to brotherhood and gave us a guide for how to live,” DeGioia said to the filled auditorium, before handing Mr. Powell a statuette of the late civil rights icon.
Among the Powells’ accomplishments, DeGioia noted Alma Powell’s strength of character as a military wife and the work that her husband has undertaken in the global fight against AIDS.
The award is named after legendary Head Coach Emeritus John Thompson, Jr., who guided the Georgetown men’s basketball team to a national championship in 1984. Thompson accompanied DeGioia to the podium for the presentation. They were joined by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.
Just days before the inauguration that marks the start of his second term and the end of Colin Powell’s tenure as Secretary of State, President Bush spoke warmly of his former top official and commended both of the Powells for their years of dedication to social causes.
“Alma and Colin Powell are among the most admired people in our country,” he said. “We have chosen on this day to pay tribute to two of the finest examples of American citizenship.”
Accepting the award with his wife, Powell said that he admired the peaceful nature of Reverend King’s struggle against inequality and oppression in the 1960s.
“Dr. King fought this war not with weapons but with truth,” he said.
Despite the frequent references made to the late civil rights leader throughout the ceremony, Georgetown Black House resident Veronica Root (MSB ‘05) noted that event organizers seemed more concerned with publicizing the presence of high-profile figures like the Powells and Bushs than with honoring Dr. King. She pointed out that the tickets received by guests upon entering did not even contain the Reverend’s name.
“It turned into a big PR event instead of being centered around Martin Luther King,” she said. “If you’re doing something for MLK, do it for MLK. Don’t supersede him.”
Monday’s ceremony also marked the unveiling of the new “Legacy of a Dream” scholarship, a sum of $25,000 dollars sponsored by the Target Company. The scholarship will be awarded during the 2005-2006 academic year to a Georgetown University undergraduate who lives up to Dr. King’s model.
The presentation was followed by a concert of popular and gospel music headlined by four-time Grammy-Award winner Aaron Neville. Neville was accompanied by a choir of Georgetown students from a variety of vocal ensembles.
