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Originally posted by BuDDaH
Wrong again, the award was given to ANY student who embodied the criteria of the merits of what the award endeared to. The first two winners of the award weren't Black at all..
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Ministerial Alliance, a group of Omaha-area pastors who asked local high schools to select students for recognition at their annual King luncheon.
Winners were selected based on grades, activities and goals. Many of the recipients were black, but not all.
"It was not intended at the beginning to be one race only," said Clidie Cook, who helps organize the annual event.
But after picking two white students in the first year, Westside officials felt the spirit of the award called for giving it to a black student.
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http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_np=...e258a01d151a4f
It seems that the contest was originally incusive of all races. Most of the winners were black. Two white people won and westside officials decided that in the "spirit of the award" (in honor of MLK) they would change the contest to exclude a bunch of people based solely on their race. Historical context or not, how can you reconcile this with king's belief that we should all be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character? Certainly you shouldn't create an award in honor of somebody and then completely ignore one of the fundamental beliefs of that person in handing out that award.