This post was written by Hatchet reporter Camille Herring.
Correction appended
When junior Emi Kamemoto first heard about the tsunami in Japan last March, she wanted to help even though was she more than 7,000 miles away.
Kamemoto, who worked with the Japanese American Student Alliance to organize “Hope for Japan: Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fundraiser” to help raise money and awareness on campus, was honored Friday for her work at GW’s 2012 Martin Luther King, Jr. Award ceremony.
Kamemoto is one of six student recipients of the award, which honors those in the GW community whose service and leadership mirror that of the great American icon.
This year’s award ceremony was held at the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre and was coordinated by the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award Committee and Multicultural Student Services Center.
“This ceremony is positioned right around a week we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and it is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on this great poet and who this award is named after,” University President Steven Knapp said.
Along with Kamemoto, the award was also given to seniors Natasha Dupee and Maya-Lindsey Thomas; juniors Karissa Broderick-Beck and Uchenna Nwokike; and graduate student Michael Komo. Faculty recipients were Dana Tai Soon Burgess, associate professor of dance and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, and Travis Wright, an assistant professor of education.
Komo, in a master’s degree program for legislative affairs, has worked with many student groups on campus including Allied in Pride, GW’s LGBT student advocacy organization.
“”Some day, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win a primary or a caucus on her quest to the presidency; some day, it will be unremarkable for a person of color to be President; and some day, it will be unremarkable for two men or two women to marry each other, and that, my friends, is truly remarkable,” Komo said.
The presentation of the awards was preceded by a slide show presentation of great moments of Dr. King’s life. The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, of which Dr. King was a member, performed in his honor.
The event featured speaker Terri Harris Reed, vice provost for diversity and inclusion, and closing remarks by Michael Tapscott, director of the Multicultural Student Services Center.
The Voice Gospel Choir concluded the event with a selection of two songs, including the unofficial national black anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
This blog was updated on January 23, 2011 to reflect the following:
The Hatchet incorrectly quoted Komo’s remarks at the event. We apologize for this error.
