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The National Mentoring Partnership and the Muhammad Ali Center are proud to announce the Third Annual International Mentoring Day on January 17, 2018—the date which would have been the 76th birthday of boxing legend and global humanitarian Muhammad Ali.
January 15th – 21st, the Muhammad Ali Center invites mentors and mentees to visit the Center together and receive a discounted rate. Mentors will receive a $5 admissions rate and their mentee will be able to tour the Center for free.
On a larger scale, the international and universal power of mentoring will be recognized and celebrated throughout the month of January, National Mentoring Month.
Leading up to January 17, individuals and organizations are encouraged to share, through social media, photos, video, messages and stories that reflect on the real life power of mentoring and in particular: (1) what mentoring means to you in real life; and (2) how you define and describe mentoring through your experience. Mentors and mentees are encouraged to meet and visit together in real life and to share pictures and stories reflecting on the power of this mentoring relationship.
The dialogue will be captured online through #InternationalMentoringDay, #MentorIRL and #NationalMentoringMonth and on Twitter (@MentoringDay ) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MentoringDay/) and on this website:
http://www.nationalmentoringmonth.org
The Muhammad Ali Center will continue its annual tradition to show Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech to the community in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The screening of this historic speech is Monday, January 15th at 11:00 a.m in the Center’s Auditorium.
A panel discussion, “Continuing the Dream, Living the Legacy” will follow the showing. Members of the Muhammad Ali Center Council of Students will discuss how young people are continuing the work of Dr. King and Muhammad Ali in our community.
Though the screening is free to the public, visitors must pay regular admission prices to access Ali Center exhibits.
This public event follows the Ali Center’s planned closing for renovations January 8-14, 2018. The renovations, announced in November, include a complete redesign of the Center’s Main Lobby, the Ali Center Store, and Group Entrance.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Councilwoman Barbara Shanklin (D-2) is inviting the community to join a special event with the Men of Peace for the 21st Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Brunch with the continuing theme of “Keeping the Dream Alive” as Metro Louisville kicks off a week of special events to honor the late civil rights leader.
“Dr. King’s message of civil rights and social justice continues to be an important message for all of us in Louisville, Kentucky and in our country,” says Shanklin. “This brunch is one of the ways we help our young people understand the need for equality for all while we strive for justice and peace in the world.”
The MLK Jr. Brunch will get underway at 11:00am at Newburg Middle School, 4901 Exeter Avenue on Saturday, January 13th.
This year’s featured speaker is the Reverend Lesa Dae of St. Stephens Church Women’s Ministry.
The event is an important fundraising effort for various youth programs sponsored by the Men of Peace Presbyterian Church throughout the year.
“These programs provide us an opportunity to help the young people of Metro Louisville lead a better life and become better citizens,” says Shanklin. “I am pleased to help the Men of Peace spread Dr. King’s message through their actions. I hope the community will come out and celebrate with us as we all enjoy this event.”
For ticket information about the 21st Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Brunch, call Michael Foree Sr. at 502-819-5723 or contact Councilwoman Shanklin’s office at 574-1102.
Photo: KFC Yum! Center
Award-winning Country duo Sugarland announced today their highly-anticipated return to the stage with the Still The Same Tour, beginning this Spring in the US. With numerous Grammy, ACM and CMA Awards, chart-topping hits and MULTI-PLATINUM sales, the pair’s Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush will bring their new live show to 48 cities, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nashville and Louisville on Saturday, July 28, 2018. The first leg of the tour will feature opening acts Brandy Clark and Clare Bowen, while Frankie Ballard and Lindsay Ell will accompany the pair for the second half.
“We are thrilled to head back out on the road together as this has been a long time coming for the both of us!” said Nettles. “And to have Brandy, Clare, Frankie and Lindsay join us will make our return really special.”
“Can’t wait to get back out there and share our new music with the best fans on earth!” Bush continued. “It will be great to hear everyone singing the old favorites along with us all summer.”
Tickets for the Still The Same 2018 Tour will go on sale starting Friday, January 12 at 10:00am local time. Beginning today, fans in select cities will have the opportunity to purchase VIP packages which includes an opportunity to meet Sugarland, attend a pre-show VIP sound check, access to exclusive tour lithographs and more.
Since the band’s inception in 2002, Sugarland has sold nearly 10 million albums domestically, earned seven No. 1 singles to date and amassed over 260 million on-demand streams. Their critical and mainstream appeal has been magnified with countless industry accolades over the course of their career. The hitmakers recently released “Still The Same,” their first new music in seven years, aptly setting the tone for their joint venture with Big Machine Records and UMG Nashville; this summer’s tour shares its name. This rejuvenation of their musical vision remains true to the authentic sound and emotive songwriting that has made Sugarland one of the most popular Country music duos of all time.
Photo: Louisville Metro Council
Councilman Vitalis Lanshima has announced two public Town Hall Meetings will be held next week for residents of District 21 to learn more about the pending MSD rate increase ordinance currently before the Louisville Metro Council.
“It is important that the residents of District 21 have a chance to learn more about what has been purposed as MSD attempts improve its infrastructure throughout the city,” says Lanshima. “MSD is looking at almost $4 billion in needed improvements and I want everyone to have a chance to voice their thoughts on this ordinance.”
The Ordinance is sponsored by Council members Barbara sexton Smith (D-4), David James (D-6) and Stuart Benson (R-20). It would allow MSD to increases its rates to as high as 10% for a period of four years. MSD can only raise its raises as high as 6.9%. Any increase about that must get Metro Council approval.
Tony Parrott, the Executive Director of MSD, will be available to speak about the rate hike at both meetings.
The Councilman is encouraging residents to attend either of these two meetings:
- Monday, January 15th 6:30pm
- Americana Community Center – 4801 Southside Dr.
- Tuesday, January 16th 6:30pm
- Wesley House Community Services – 5114 Preston Hwy.
“These are the first of a series of community meetings I plan to conduct on various issues in the district,” says Lanshima. “I also wanted to encourage everyone in the district to come out to meet me and let me know what is on your mind regarding issues or concerns.”
The Muhammad Ali Center is proud to announce its upcoming Daughters of Greatness speaker: Jamillah Ali Joyce, daughter of Muhammad Ali. Jamillah will speak on Friday, January 19th. The event will begin with a hot breakfast at 8:30 a.m. and the program will be from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
Throughout the year, the Daughters of Greatness breakfast series invites prominent women engaged in social philanthropy, activism, and pursuits of justice to share their stories with the Louisville community. The Daughters of Greatness series provides a place for dialogue and discussion on current issues of justice, community engagement, and social movements within the Louisville area and beyond.
Jamillah Ali Joyce was raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She attended the University of Illinois where she majored in communications. Upon graduation Jamillah began her career by serving as the primary marketing director for the MARC Corporation in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Heeding a call to public service Jamillah returned to Chicago to work for the State of Illinois under Illinois’ longest serving Secretary Of State Jesse White. Secretary White acknowledged Jamillah’s work ethic and effectiveness in the performance of duties in the office by appointing her to her current position as the sole Illinois Secretary of State Employment Counselor in the City of Chicago.
Oftentimes Jamillah has represented her father at local, national, and international civic and charitable functions. Included among the many charitable endeavors Jamillah has regularly supported the Ed Kelly Youth Sports Program, the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls “For Mercy’s Sake”, Chicago Cubs World Series Champion Coach Joe Maddon’s Respect 90 Foundation, and the St. Baldrick’s Conquer Kid’s Cancer Foundation’s “Fight for a Cure.” Jamillah remains very active in helping worthy causes by making appearances and promoting the Ali “Service to Others.”
Jamillah and her children are active members of the Ephraim Bahar Cultural Center which regularly provides food and hygienic products to the underprivileged and homeless in the city of Chicago.
Jamillah currently resides in Chicago with her husband, attorney Michael Joyce and their three children: Nadia, a senior at the University of Notre Dame; Amira, a freshman at the University of Louisville; and Jake, a kindergarten student at St. Cajetan.
Seating is limited. Tickets are $20 for Ali Center members, $25 for non-members, $15 for students. Tables of 8 and 10 are also available. Information about our 2018 Breakfast Club and Sponsorship Opportunity is available here. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are available here or by contacting Erin Herbert at eherbert@alicenter.org.
Mayor Greg Fischer today announced that Rev. Dr. Charles Elliott Jr., a longtime civic advocate in Louisville, is the 2018 recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Award.
Born in Alabama, Rev. Elliott moved to Louisville in the early 1950s and has been pastor of King Solomon Missionary Baptist Church since 1961. He has devoted his life to helping the poor, fighting the corrupt and teaching children that education and jobs – and not violence or gangs – are their tickets out of poverty and despair.
“Rev. Elliott’s work embodies the spirit of this award, which recognizes those who lift our community by their work promoting justice and racial equality,” the Mayor said. “The Reverend takes those ideals from the pulpit to the street, and for decades, he has been a true inspiration for our community.”
Mayor Fischer will present the Freedom Award on Sunday, Jan. 14 during the “Keepers of the Dream” community arts celebration dedicated to Dr. King, at the Kentucky Center’s Whitney Hall, 501 W. Main St. The event, which is free and open to the public, begins at 5 p.m.
Rev. Elliot said he was surprised and honored by the Freedom Award recognition.
“I’ve tried to devote my life to the mission set out by Dr. King and other heroes who’ve gone before us,” Rev. Elliott said. “I wanted my work to create hope and strength in parts of our great city where it is most needed, and this honor is a wonderful affirmation for those efforts. I am truly grateful to the mayor for this wonderful honor.”
Rev. Elliott was born Aug. 17, 1934, in Wheeler, Ala., to Charles Elliott Sr. and Gertrude Steel Elliott.
He married the late Dorothy Lee Tucker Elliott in 1952, and they lived in Decatur, Ala., for two years before moving to Louisville, where he initially worked at Kentucky Foundry, and they lived in an apartment on West Chestnut Street. In 1958, he was ordained a Deacon at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church.
Rev. Elliott says now that he knew that God wanted him to preach, but he chose to continue to serve as a deacon until the next year, when he learned, he says, that you can’t run from God. Called home to Alabama by news that his mother and brother both were hospitalized with serious illnesses, Rev. Elliott said he prayed that God would intervene, and in exchange, he promised to announce his calling to preach. When he arrived at the hospital in Decatur, he found both his mother and brother were on the mend and being released to go home.
He announced his calling in December of 1959, and preached his first sermon at Bethel Missionary Baptist. He later organized the Little Bethel Mission at 22nd and Cedar streets before being asked to be pastor of King Solomon.
He and his wife had three children, Darlene Johnson of California, the late Torone Mumford, and Charles Elliott III of Louisville.
Having grown up in the segregated South, Rev. Elliott said he’s always felt compelled to help people on the fringes with the message that education and jobs is the pathway safety and success.
And he practiced what he preached, earning his Doctor of Divinity degree from Union Biblical Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in 2003 — when he was nearly 70 years old.
According to his church biography, Rev. Elliott organized the Kentucky Christian Benevolent Association in 1957 to help poor people in emergency situations after learning about a 9-year-old boy who had died of starvation. In 1967, he became chair of the Kentucky Christian Leadership Conference. He was also instrumental in passing legislation recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as a holiday in Kentucky, and helped lead the Parkland Development project. And in the late 1990s, he founded the Jesus and a Job campaign to provide work for those who have difficulty finding work because of substance abuse struggles or felony records.
Inducted in the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2012, Rev. Elliott has worked closely with Mayor Fischer’s administration on programs to help stem violence, a challenge he says “is going to take all of us contributing and working together to do whatever we can.”
The Freedom Award, first presented in 1988, recognizes citizens who have dedicated their lives to promoting justice, peace, freedom, non-violence, racial equality and civic activism.
Last year’s winner was Manfred Reid Sr.
Elliott will be presented an award of blown glass created by Ché Rhodes, Associate Professor, Head of Glass, University of Louisville Hite Art Institute.
The Jan. 14 concert and community arts celebration is presented by Kentucky Center ArtsReach, in collaboration with Louisville Metro Government and the River City Drum Corp.
The Mayor’s Freedom Award is sponsored by Republic Bank.
The 8th Annual Keepers of the Dream, hosted by Ahmaad Edmund, will feature presentation of the Freedom Award; the ArtsReach Living the Vision Awards; Westerfield Tolbert’s recitation of a speech by Dr. King; along with dance, music and spoken word.
Performances include ArtsReach Dance, Percussion and Violin Studios from Louisville Central Community Centers, Inc., Metro Parks Shawnee Arts and Cultural Center, Metro Parks Newburg Community Center, WESTEC and West End School. Other featured artists are Belizean Dance Intermix, poet Leen Abozaid, Ty Brown, featured artist Alexis Stix Brown, poet NAM, and the River City Drum Corp.
In addition to the performance and awards ceremony, the lobby will be bustling with activity prior to the event, with pre-show entertainment by Louisville Leopard Percussionists and exhibitors from local organizations. Following the main program, there will be a post-show celebration in the lobby featuring River City Drum Corps.
