Hello and thank you to Jackson College for inviting me here today. This now marks my third time delivering remarks at this event and I have to say it grows bigger and better each and every year.
I want to also recognize some of my colleagues from the City of Jackson that are here tonight:
City Councilman Freddie Dancy
members of the Human Relations Commission and all others who serve, or have served, on our various boards and commissions.
Please join me in giving them some thanks to these esteemed public servants.
Now, in a sermon from his book Strength to Love, Dr. King once remarked: “We are not makers of history; we are made by history.”
Out of context, I’ve often understood this quote to read that people are shaped by the world around them.
We are who we are because of the historical events and opportunities that unfold around us. We operate within that environment. And that kind of makes sense at face value.
But if you look at the context of his entire sermon, Dr. King expresses quite the opposite: He is exposing those who have succumbed to the seeming inevitability of the hand they’ve been dealt. He was reproaching his congregation — and all those listening to his words — for not being more proactive in the fight for civil rights — for change.
For becoming victims of history by believing that we are helpless in the endeavor to change its trajectory. Dr. King inspired all of us here to recognize that fallacy and work to fight injustice everywhere.
Jackson has a long and storied history in the fight for civil rights, social justice, and change. In changing that trajectory of history.
Abolitionists. Environmental activists. Civil rights leaders. Those who helped conduct the Underground Railroad and those who pioneered the abolishment of the death penalty. Right here in Jackson.
We are a historical tapestry of ordinary citizens who, when injustice befell their fellow man or community, stood up, spoke out, organized, voted and fought to change that environment.
To do their part, however large or small, to change that narrative for our country and ensure that Jackson had a place in history as a city that stood for equality and justice for all.
Tonight, I’m happy to introduce someone who too is woven into that tapestry: our 2020 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Service Awardee, Arlene Robinson.
Arlene is a lifelong resident of the City of Jackson, a graduate of Jackson High School and attended Jackson Community College. Along with her three sons and twelve grandchildren, Arlene is related to half the town.
She’s served the City of Jackson on the Jackson Housing Commission Board of Commissioners and the City of Jackson Income Tax Review Board. Arlene has been a community fixture leading as branch President of the Jackson County NAACP for thirteen years and served the group as Vice President and Treasurer.
In 1992, she received the Business Woman of the Year Award; in 1999, the Sadie and Ex Rhodes Barham Award; and in 2004, the Susan B. Anthony Award. She has served as treasurer of the Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club and is a lifetime member and Trustee of Second Missionary Baptist Church.
Arlene has represented the First Ward on the Jackson City Council since 2013, and has been elected by her peers to serve as Vice Mayor twice since 2017.
It’s in that role that I’ve truly been able to work with Arlene to accomplish a number of important initiatives for the people of Jackson. She’s packed a lot into her term and a half on Council:
She voted to passed the Non-Discrimination Ordinance, securing protections from discrimination that have eluded segments of our population for some 30 plus years.
She passionately and successfully advocated for the $2 million dollar renovation of the MLK Center — a project that is already underway.
She’s presided over an unprecedented effort to clean up our neighborhoods and expand safe, affordable and dignified housing for those of low income in the City.
Arlene was the deciding vote in passing a first-in-the-state Displaced Tenant Ordinance to stabilize and support families that face vacating their home due to negligent slumlords.
She backed a Needle Exchange Program and Cure Violence programming to show that our response to our drug and neighborhood violence problems can be both compassionate and innovative.
And, after a 40 year battle, she’s why many of us drove down MLK Street to get here tonight and why, later this year we will pull together a Corridor Improvement Authority for MLK Street to show our City what real, equitable transformation looks like.
Dr. King said that “We are not makers of history; we are made by history.”
He said: “In this world a man must either be anvil or hammer,” meaning that he is either a molder of society or is molded by society.
He lamented that most people are “thermometers that record or register the temperature of majority opinion, not thermostats that transform and regulate the temperature of society.”
As a colleague of Arlene’s, I can tell you this: She leads with her heart. She knows the south side; who put her into office, and who she is there to fight for. She is a friend, an advocate, and above all a servant of the public.
Arlene has helped transform our city into the progressive leader emerging today.
She does not ask for praise or gratitude. She’s not flashy. Arlene may not the loudest person in the room, but know that she is heard.
And to any critics she may still have, be warned that you may not hear it, but she is hammering away — breaking down walls of injustice and inequity. Bringing resources to area of this city that have been long neglected.
You may not feel it all at once, but in her own, quiet way she’s adjusting that thermostat, cranking up the heat, and creating positive change that will last for generations to come.
I can say unequivocally that there’s nobody more suited to for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Medal of Service Award. We would like to share with you a short video about tonight’s honoree.
Brothers and sisters, please join me in welcoming my friend, and our Vice Mayor, Arlene Robinson to the stage.
Speech delivered January 18th, 2020 at Jackson College’s MLK Celebration Dinner.