Reston Celebrates Martin Luther King Day

National Public Radio journalist Michele Norris came to the Reston Community Center to talk about race and America as part of RCC's annual Martin Luther King Day celebration.

Michele Norris, a host of NPR’s All Things Considered, shared what she learned  while writing and researching her new book, The Grace of Silence:  A Memoir.

After Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, Norris said she wanted to write a book about how people discussed race. She quickly realized the conversation must start in her own backyard, so she approached family elders.  Their secret stories unveiled painful family racial history from the 1940s and 1950s. 

“I like to say I put the 'I' back in history,” said Norris.

Norris learned that her World War II-veteran father was shot by a police officer in Birmingham, AL, in 1946 while he was attempting to enter a public building. Her maternal  grandmother worked as a costumed Aunt Jemima, selling pancake mix throughout the farming Midwest. 

Norris says her elders wanted her to “keep her eye on the prize” and avoided telling painful stories because they wanted her generation to strictly focus ahead.  That strategy allowed her to pursue a successful career without the legacy of pain.

 After writing this book, she now believes telling family history can bring power and healing to our country.  It is something Dr. King would embrace, she said, and she encouraged the audience to “pull out the pie, the slab of pound cake or the noodle kugel,” and over the comfort of food, talk about their family stories regarding race. 

After Norris' speech, William Bouie, treasurer of the Board of Directors, moderated a panel with  Norris, Hunter Mill Supervisor Catherine Hudgins and Eileen Miller, a senior consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton, who serves as the program manager for their Partnerships and Philanthropy team.    They discussed community service and volunteering in Reston and focused on how to encourage or reach out to our younger residents.

staff led a family friendly workshop on ending homelessness.   Volunteers rounded out the afternoon making trivets and healthy bagged lunches for Reston Interfaith programs. Other volunteers packed treats and wrote notes to overseas troops with the help of Trooptreats.

Earlier in the program, the Reston Community Center handed out its 2011  Community Service Awards:

Among the honorees:

Franck Simo, a junior at South Lakes High School who arrived two years ago from Cameroon and quickly became a leader and advocate for ESOL students.

- This group of South Lakes High School freshmen has worked to honor their friend, Amy Boyle, who died of brain cancer when the group was in sixth grade.   Their Reston Relay for Life team raised $24,000, and they will be hosting a youth triathlon in May.

Maestro Dingwall Fleary - Dingwall Fleary leads 50 local musicians and has focused on playing works by African American composers, as well as featuring African American singers, gospel choirs and inspirational readers.  Outreach to youth audiences is a key component of the Maestro’s work.

Ken Fredgren - As chairperson of the Reston Accessibility Committee (RAC) of Reston Citizen’s Association (RCA), Fredgen advocates for barrier-free access for persons with physical disabilities.  Recent successes include improvements at the Best Buy area at the Spectrum and at Hunters Woods Shopping Center.