COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission announced the winners of the annual MLK Awards, one of whom is a 17-year-old Columbus student.
The annual awards honor the service and achievements of Ohio residents and organizations in areas that are consistent with the teachings and example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This year, alongside several recipients from Cincinnati, Emmanuela Francique, a senior at Columbus Alternative High School won the “Youth: Capturing the Vision of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Award.”
The youth award is given to young Ohioans who exemplify leadership, nonviolence, commitment to excellence and interracial cooperation.
Francique is a member of several volunteer organizations and started her own student organization. She has been a member of the Franklin County Youth Council for more than a year and participated with the Mid-Ohio Food Bank and completed the Youth-Led Teen Suicide Prevention Training: Sourced of Strength.
She is also a founder of Small Hit, Big Impact, an after-school student organization that focuses on volunteerism, purpose-driven leadership and fostering personal development. Francique organizes workshops and volunteer opportunities for students.
She is a member of Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church, where her activities include serving as a youth leader for the Pathfinder program, a youth ministry. She also serves as a junior deaconess, youth elder, youth ministries secretary and as superintendent for the lower division Sabbath School.
Someday, she would like to work in human resources or be a business executive, but her big vision is to turn her organization into a youth community center.
"My dream profession is in leadership and the organization of people,” Francique said. “I love the responsibility and freedom that comes with entrepreneurship. In my work as a businesswoman, I want my business to respect and nurture a diverse group of people to come together with the common goal of serving their community. I want to create a legacy of community and self-advocacy that promotes positive social change."
Also winning the individual award in central Ohio was David Butcher, from Athens County.
Butcher is the executive director and head curator of the Tablertown People of Color Museum, a nonprofit enterprise in Kilvert, Ohio.
The museum showcases 19th-century cultural artifacts that tell the story of Appalachian diversity.
Butcher’s nominator said, “His long-term commitment for taking a nonviolent approach to advancing equity among diverse populations is admirable, all while working full time, raising four accomplished children, and being a phenomenal husband, exceptional son, and pillar of support to several other family members, friends, local residents, and professionals.”
He has collaborated with community organizations and partners to secure and sustain the future of Kilvert and the Tablertown People of Color Museum.
Awards will be presented at noon on Thursday, Jan. 11 during the Ohio Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebration at Trinity Episcopal Church.
