Celebrating MLK With Their Own Stories

Early Friday morning, before even the sun was up, Card Gymnasium resonated with gospel music, emotional testimonials and applause during the Annual MLK Duke Employee Breakfast.

Sounds echoed outside into Kville, rousting students in tents and sleeping bags from their near-freezing slumber, but many of the 250 Campus Services employees inside the gym had been awake for several hours, cleaning classrooms, repairing plumbing leaks, gathering recyclable materials and handling other tasks that keep Duke running around the clock.

As part of "Calling the Circle: Taking up the Work on Behalf of the Children," more than 150 staff members from Duke's Facilities Management Department, University Housekeeping and other areas shared breakfast and heard co-workers discuss how to continue Martin Luther King's legacy.

"By ‘Calling the Circle,' we rallied members of the Campus Services departments to demonstrate how its members make a contribution and must continue to be committed to uplifting the lives of young people," said Dorothy Powell, director of the Duke's School of Nursing's Office of Global and Community Health Initiatives, which helped organize the event.

"Everybody at Duke has a role to play to ensure that young people who come here receive positive messages, be they large or small, along their journey to successful adulthood," Powell said.

Presenters included:

Dorothy Dunkins and the Grounds & Sanitation Choir.

 

Audience members clapped and swayed as Dorothy Dunkins, a recycler with FMD, harmonized with her co-workers in the Grounds & Sanitation Choir, which included fellow recyclers Sarah Hall, Larry Dunkins, Mary Royster, Rashawn Hanberry and Marvel Cajuste, along with Tony Byrd, a sanitation equipment operator senior, Ken Sanders, a material control clerk, Jessica Moore, staff assistant for recycling, and Arwen Buchholz, Duke's recycling coordinator.

Before the music began, several members of the group spoke about the significance of the civil rights movement in opening doors for equal opportunities, and the bringing King's dream to young people.

Dunkins has worked at Duke since 1998. She and several co-workers began singing together several years ago in churches, hospitals and at community events.

Electrician/Artist Jimmie Banks

 

All eyes were on Jimmie Banks (left) -- and his paintings -- as he took the stage.

"I've been painting portraits since I was in the sixth grade, and I want to encourage the youth to pursue their dreams, just as Rev. King did," said Banks, a senior electrician in FMD who has worked eight years at Duke. "I try to inspire young people by encouraging them to pursue their dreams."

Some of Banks' artwork is currently on display in the Bryan Center's Multicultural Center. He's had exhibits at the Mary Lou Williams Center, Duke Hospital and Duke's employee art show.

Banks also shared his own story. "I had heart problems not too long ago, and I was out of work for three months, but I never gave up," he said. "No matter what position you're in, you can succeed. Don't ever give up."

Housekeeper/Poet Monique Savage

 

Monique Savage, a University Housekeeping specialist who works primarily in Perkins Library, was encouraged by co-workers to submit a poem dedicated to her 5-year-old daughter, Jade.

Her poem, "Striving for Excellence," touches on coping with challenges, overcoming obstacles and cherishing loved ones. Here's an excerpt:

"Ultimate success, not failure, is the road I choose to take.

 

I refuse to be distracted by negative things that are put before me;

 

I have opened my heart and my mind and allowed myself to see things differently.

 

I will have no pity for myself when I experience setbacks;

 

I will learn from these mistakes, grow from them, made a vow to keep my life on track."

"I had never read any of my poetry in front of anybody, but I felt honored that people seemed to appreciate the message," Savage said after the ceremony. "I want to encourage my daughter to strive for excellence. That's my way of continuing Dr. King's legacy."

Postal clerk/Pastor Bobby Laws

 

Duke postal clerk Bobby Laws usually distributes mail on East Campus, but he was delivering another type of message during the MLK breakfast. His testimonial about keeping a positive outlook on life prompted many in the audience to reply, "Amen."

Along with working at Duke Postal for a decade, Laws is pastor of Pilgrim Baptist of Oxford Ministries and author of The Positive Flow: Your life can be so much more! a motivational book published last fall by Outskirts Press.

In his remarks, Laws gave his version of King's message: "If you're ever wondering what you can do to make your parents and others who love you proud -- the greatest thing you could ever do is become the person they created you to be."