Northland Martin Luther King Event with speaker Congressman Emanuel Cleaver II

12/22/2023

The Clay County African American Legacy and the Northland Martin Luther King, Jr. Program Committee invite the community to attend the 40th annual Northland Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024 at the Liberty Senior High School Performing Arts Center. The keynote speaker will be The Honorable Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II, U.S. House of Representative, MO-5.

In addition to special music from Jewell's Concert Choir, Kansas City jazz vocalist, "Lady D" and others, tributes, community members and organizations will be presented service awards at the event. 

The Invictus Award for Social Justice will be given to Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II, U.S. House of Representative, MO-5. Martin Luther King Community Service Awards will be presented to Karri George, founding director and volunteer of The Liberty Christmas Store; Larry Lester, co-founder of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City, Missouri; Joanne Collins, political leader, first Kansas City African American councilwoman and mayor pro-tem; Liberty Senior High School 1977-1978 African American basketball players; and Aryonna Straws, William Jewell College student community service volunteer.

About the Speaker

Emanuel Cleaver, II, is serving his 10th term representing Missouri's Fifth Congressional District. He is a member of the House Committee on Financial Services; Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance; member of Subcommittee on Capital Markets; and member of the U.S. Helsinki Commission.

Having served for twelve years on the city council of Missouri's largest municipality, Kansas City, Cleaver was elected as the city's first African American Mayor in 1991. As mayor, Cleaver and the City Council brought several major corporations to the city, including TransAmerica, Harley Davidson and Citi Corp. Cleaver also led the effort, after a 40-year delay, to build the South Midtown Roadway. Upon completion of this major thoroughfare, he proposed a new name: The Bruce R. Watkins Roadway. Additionally, his municipal stewardship includes the 18th and Vine Redevelopment, a new American Royal, the establishment of a Family Division of the Municipal Court and the reconstruction and beautification of Brush Creek.

During the 112th Congress (2011-2013), Cleaver was unanimously elected the 20th chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. In 2018, Congressman Cleaver received the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Harry S. Truman Good Neighbor Award Foundation. Past honorees include President Bill Clinton, the late Senator John McCain and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. He has a bachelor's degree from Prairie View A&M, a master's from St. Paul's School of Theology of Kansas City and five honorary doctoral degrees.