Nomination period open for Ohio MLK Commission awards
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission is now accepting nominations for awards honoring Ohio individuals and organizations for their work to keep Dr. King’s dream alive and carry on his philosophy of nonviolent social and economic equity.
The Commission, which operates with administrative support from the Ohio Department of Administrative Services (DAS), will recognize award winners at the 2022 Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebration. More details about the event, which is held each January leading up to the MLK holiday, will be available in the coming months.
“In life, Dr. King stood up for the disadvantaged and oppressed. More than a half-century later, his incredible courage in the face of resistance continues to inspire us,” said McKinley Brown, chair of the Commission. “The Commission is honored to recognize Ohioans who embody Dr. King’s vision of equality and remind each of us of our own power to affect change.”
The Commission this year reformatted the awards and will now accept nominations for the five award categories all year. Nominations submitted by Oct. 30 of each year will be considered for the following January’s event. Nominations can be submitted electronically at das.ohio.gov/mlk and there is no limit on the number of nominations one can submit.
The awards and criteria are as follows:
Individual Award: Nominees must be individuals who have made significant contributions toward building a sense of unity among Ohio citizens. Nominators must demonstrate how the nominee has used Dr. King’s vision of nonviolent social change to successfully bring people from diverse backgrounds together to build a better community and advance equity.
Organization Award: Nominees must be organizations that have made significant contributions toward building a sense of unity among Ohio citizens. Nominators must demonstrate how the nominee has used Dr. King’s vision of nonviolent social change to successfully bring people from diverse backgrounds together to build a better community and advance equity.
Collaborative Effort Award: Nominees, which may be any combination of individuals, communities, businesses, or other organizations, must collectively have made significant contributions toward building a sense of unity among Ohio citizens. Nominators must demonstrate how the nominees have used Dr. King’s vision of nonviolent social change to successfully bring people from diverse backgrounds together to build a better community and advance equity.
Youth: Capturing the Vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award: Nominees must be 20 or younger on Oct. 31. Nominees must exemplify leadership, nonviolence, commitment to excellence, and interracial cooperation. Nominations by schools, community organizations, or employers should include specific situations in which the nominee demonstrated an adherence to one or more of Dr. King’s Six Principles of Nonviolence, which are:
- Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
- The Beloved Community is the framework for the future.
- Attack forces of evil, not persons doing evil.
- Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve the goal.
- Avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence.
- The universe is on the side of justice.
Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Governor’s Humanitarian Award: This award seeks to honor those quiet soldiers who promote the welfare of humanity and the elimination of pain and suffering through their own selfless service, often without recognition. Nominees possess a personal activism that has inspired unheralded long-term service to the community and stands as a model for others to emulate. Those who have gone far beyond the normal duty of being a good neighbor receive special consideration. It is the individual who watches the children when no one else is there, who organizes children’s games to get them off the streets, or who cares for the sick and feeds the hungry. It is the individual who does what no one else will and does so because that is who she or he is.
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