(MURFREESBORO) MTSU's Tennessee Room in the James Union Building had standing room only for the 27th Annual Unity Luncheon on Feb. 8, 2023. The event also honored “unsung heroes” from the Midstate community who have improved the quality of life of their neighbors and communities.
The keynote speaker was Memphis Attorney and City Councilman J.B. Smiley urged the capacity crowd to embrace this year’s Black History Month theme of “resistance” to confront the inequalities that remain throughout our society.
Smiley noted, “Resistance is the best tool and has always been the best tool to tear down systems of oppression and inequality.”
He continued, “Like many of us are doing now, we have our head down. We’re not paying attention, we are becoming numb to injustice. You have to decide where you will stand, you have to decide if you will sit on the sidelines and be lukewarm or whether you will stand on the side of justice.”
Hosted by the MTSU Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, this year’s event featured special award presentations to the following honoring area citizens who continue to go the extra mile.
2023 Honorees
- Vanessa Alderson (Contribution to Black Arts)
- Marva Lucas (Education) recently retired MTSU professor
- Michael McDonald (Advocate of Civility)
- Joe and Sybil Rich (Community Service)
- Stacy Windrow (Excellence in Sports)
- Christopher Rochelle (Unsung Staff Award)
More about their achievements at end of story
Before Smiley gave his address, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee addressed the audience, lauding this year’s honorees for their service and selflessness while also noting the recent discovery of a racist message found in a campus dormitory. He reiterated the university’s commitment “to maintaining a culture of inclusion, where all students and employees feel welcome and valued.”
“When events like this occur, we need individuals, like today’s ‘unsung heroes’ who are willing to step out of their comfort zones to challenge the status quo, not afraid to address the issues of today,” he said. “Individuals who put others ahead of themselves and who will give willingly of their time, talents and love for one another, to assure that the generations who follow will find a country, a state and a community that is stronger and more united.”
McPhee noted that a university campus provides “a place where people of all races and ethnicities, rich or poor, can come to exchange ideas and freely discuss the issues and challenges of today.”
“But we must also acknowledge that our campus, like the world around us is far from perfect — we must work every day to ensure that our students, our alumni and the community we serve are provided the tools and the opportunity to make the world a better place,” he said.
Smiley, meanwhile, noted the upheaval that continues back in his West Tennessee city following the brutal traffic stop beating death of Memphis resident Tyre Nichols at the hands of several police officers who were subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder after the incident was captured by a street camera.
Smiley, founding member of Smiley and Associates PLLC, told the audience that Tuesday, Feb. 7, was the first Memphis City Council meeting since Nichols’ death, a gathering that drew national media crews from outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, the Associated Press and others. “And it was emotionally draining. We talked about creating change with systemic issues.”
Smiley noted the critical efforts of prior generations to fight for civil rights and liberties, including that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who succumbed to an assassin’s bullet in the city of Memphis in 1968 after he came to the city to speak to sanitation workers who were striking for better wages and working conditions. Such work must continue, he said.
“The only way we get to the promised land that Dr. King talked about … right here in this state, where the wealth gap is nonexistence, where race does not play a part in the type of justice you receive, where police do not over-police Black and brown communities, where the quality of education is not defined by income, or race, or zip code. The only way we get there is resistance.
“We have work to do. … Whenever you are told ‘that’s just the way it is,’ resist.”
Focus On 2023 Heroes
- Vanessa Alderson (Contribution to Black Arts): Alderson has brought her vocal talent to multiple church choirs and special choir performances like the Stellar Awards and TBN. She is a proud NAACP Silver Life member and works as an educational assistant at Randolph Howell Elementary STEM School. The MTSU alumna also served as the 1982 Miss Black Middle Tennessee State University and was recognized and honored at Columbia State’s 2020 Black History Program honoring African American Crowned Queens. She worked with the assistant vice chancellor for federal relations in Washington, D.C., during President Barack Obama's administration.
- Marva Lucas (Education): Lucas served as an MTSU professor and chair of the University Studies Department in University College before her recent retirement. Her personal and professional ambitions always included providing encouragement and assistance by managing programs that focus on the needs of the at-risk student population.
- Michael McDonald (Advocate of Civility): The Murfreesboro resident and MTSU alumnus was the first Black student body president at the university. He has served as a law professor who specializes in the areas of constitutional law, criminal justice, and due process and equal protection under the law. He was a member of the inaugural Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Most recently, he was named a member of the Rutherford County Juvenile Justice Center Oversight Board Commission.
- Joe and Sybil Rich(Community Service): The Riches have a passion for serving others. The MTSU alumni credit their humble beginnings to deep family roots, strong faith and family core values, and compassion for others in need. Their commitment to performing acts of kindness is evident in multiple areas of community service, such as cooking meals for the elderly, delivering non-perishable food items to those in need and visiting area nursing homes, to name a few. They work tirelessly to serve those within the community, whether they know those whom they help or not.
- Stacy Windrow (Excellence in Sports): An MTSU alumnus, Windrow is a triathlete, two-time ironman, a six-time half ironman and has completed numerous sprint and Olympic triathlons, 10-plus marathons, and 50-plus half-marathons. Several years ago, she and husband Vincent Windrow, MTSU’s former associate vice provost for student success, established the Windrow Family Book Fund that provides scholarships to deserving Honors College students. She also serves as the co-chair of the Physical and Mental Health committee of the Rutherford County Alumnae chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
- Christopher Rochelle (Unsung Staff Award): As a member of the MTSU Black History Month Committee and as assistant director of the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military and Family Center, Rochelle works tirelessly to assist not only students but also faculty and staff. “He has a contagious enthusiasm that encourages those around him to work harder and achieve their goals,” said award presenter Robbie Snapp. “His dedication to his work, family and community, in addition to being the all-round go-to guy for so many things, makes him deserving of this award.”
