Bill Robinson
Feb. 12 was the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. It also was the 100th anniversary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
At its annual banquet Saturday night at the Betty Miller Center, the NAACP’s Richmond branch celebrated the past century’s achievements, including the election of America’s first black president, and resolved to continue working for freedom justice and equality.
“The struggle continues,” said the Rev. Robert Blythe, the local branch president and a Richmond City Commissioner. “Just because Barack Obama was elected president doesn’t mean that racism is dead in America.”
The national organization’s centennial theme, “Bold Dreams, Big Victories,” echoed throughout the evening. Each table was centered by a flower arrangement containing the figure 100.
“Don’t forget your dreams,” said Richmond native Kristi Runyon, a Lexington television news anchor who was the keynote speaker.
Sleep research shows that within five minutes of waking, people forget half of what they dreamed during the night, she said. Within 10 minutes, only 10 percent of a dream can be recalled.
When she was a morning news anchor, Runyon said often she was so sleep deprived that she was unable to enter the deep stage of sleep when dreams occur, much less remember what she had dreamed.
“I’m not a morning person, but I played one on TV,” she joked.
Returning to a serious note, she said dreams forgotten are dreams unfulfilled.
“What if the greatest dreamer of all time, Dr. Martin Luther King, had forgotten his dream for America,” she asked. “What if Barack Obama had forgotten his dream of leading our country?
“What if Oprah Winfrey had given up her dream of becoming a TV star after a producer told her she had no prospect for success in television?”
Runyon said she had dreamed of being a TV news reporter and anchor since she was a 10-year-old student at Mayfield Elementary School and interviewed Richmond’s mayor for a class journalism project.
Although she considered other careers, especially after learning how much local TV reporters are paid, she did not let go of her dream.
In addition to anchoring Lexington’s highest-rated morning newscast, Runyon has won a regional Emmy award for her reporting on illiteracy in Kentucky. The Emmy is one of more than a dozen awards she has received from the Associated Press of Kentucky and the Society of Professional Journalists.
Her twin boys, who celebrated their first birthday on the day Obama was elected president, have introduced her to new dreams, Runyon said.
“I dream of a world that is a better place for all children,” she said.
She also dreams of a day when the election of a black president, woman president or Hispanic president will be thought unremarkable, Runyon said.
“Dream when you leave here, and remember your dream,” she told her listeners. “Even if the dream does not come true in your lifetime, others will take up your dream.”
Returning to a light-hearted mode, Runyon said, “Right now, I’m just dreaming I’ll make it to church on time in the morning.”
Norman Boston of Danville, who heads the Kentucky region to which the Richmond NAACP branch belongs, said the organization is committed at all levels to continue dreaming big, while working to making the most of past victories.
Among those honored at the banquet were retired local school teachers, three of whom were present, Dorothy Miller, Eleanor Warren and Mary D. Turner.
“I am a teacher and coach today, because I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me,” said Velmar Miller, a Madison Central High School teacher and head football coach.
Three honorary co-chairs – John Black, Judge William G. Clouse and Frank D. Walker – were recognized for “significant contributions to the progress of the Madison County African-American community.”
Walker was honored for his “trailblazing role” as a member of the World War II unit of black fighter pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen and as an employee of the U.S. Postal Service. Walker was unable to attend, but was represented by his son Charles.
Clouse, a circuit judge, was recognized for the success of his mock trial teams that have included a number of black students, who have gone on to success in law and other professions.
Black, an executive with IBM in Lexington, was praised for his leadership in the YMCA Black Achievers of Central Kentucky, which involves 25 to 30 high school students from Madison County each year.
The county’s black churches also were recognized for their role in the in the civil rights movement, the NAACP and the life of the black community. Each was presented with a commemorative plaque.
Black churches played a crucial role in the struggle for “freedom, justice and equality during very dark and difficult times,” said Dr. Janice Blythe.
Progress in civil rights was possible because past leaders had “faith that better times would come,” she said.
Richmond Police Chief Larry Brock, a high school classmate of Miller’s, was master of ceremony for the event.
“Chief Brock is an active member of the NAACP,” Robert Blythe said. “He doesn’t just carry a membership card.”
Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregister.com or at 624-6622.
