2017 MLK Award nominees announced

Posted on December 23, 2016

Monica Pearson will be speaking at the 2017 award event (Photo Courtesy WSB-TV)

By Patrick Baron

BLOOMINGTON – The nominees for the 2017 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Awards have been announced.

The Bloomington and Normal Human Relations Commissions honor the legacy of Dr. King each year by recognizing two high school students and two adults for their efforts to promote tolerance and understanding among people of diverse backgrounds.

The adult nominees from Bloomington are Kevin Jones and Jessica Jackson. Youth nominees from Bloomington are Aishwarya Shekara, Anniah Watson, Jordyn Blythe, Nikitha Mothikuru, Oviya Sougoumarane, and Xazavier Pittman.

Normal’s adult nominees are Mary Aplington, Andre Hursey, and Dontae Latson. The youth nominee from Normal is Sujith Molakala.

The Awards will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14. The Awards will feature guest speaker Monica Pearson, who in 1975 became the first minority and first woman to anchor the evening news in Atlanta, Georgia.

Patrick Baron can be reached at [email protected].

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