Legacy BanQuet
Begun in 2009, the annual Realizing the Dream Legacy Banquet features a keynote speaker and recognizes three individuals who embody the servant leadership of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard’s work as an actor has spanned more than 50 years. Her illustrious body of work includes her Oscar-nominated performance in “Cross Creek;” HBO’s “Mandela,” where she was honored with an ACE award for her portrayal of Winnie Mandela; Joseph Sargent’s “Miss Evers’ Boys,” for which she won one of her four Emmy Awards, as well as one of three SAG Awards and a Golden Globe Award; Spike Lee’s “Crooklyn;” Maya Angelou’s “Down in the Delta” and more. Known for portraying strong-willed and dignified roles on stage and screen, she most recently appeared in the critically acclaimed “12 Years a Slave.” The 17-time Emmy Award nominee is also a longtime activist, having co-founded Artists for a New South Africa, a nonprofit working to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and further the cause of democracy and human rights in South Africa.
Legacy Award Winners
2026
Mountaintop Award
Joseph Ellwanger
Joseph Ellwanger is a retired Evangelical Lutheran Church in America pastor. Born in St. Louis, he served as pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, an African American congregation in Birmingham, from 1958–1967, during which time he became involved in the civil rights movement and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He served as president of the Birmingham Council on Human Relations, the only bi-racial community organization in Birmingham in the 1960s, and was a member of the Central Committee. Ellwanger led 72 participants in the Concerned White Citizens of Alabama demonstration in Selma and participated in the last segment of the Selma to Montgomery march. He was chosen by Dr. King, along with 13 other pastors active in the 1965 demonstrations, to meet with Gov. George Wallace, and was also selected to be part of a national group of 17 religious leaders to meet with President Lyndon B. Johnson on March 12, 1965, to urge passage of the Voting Rights Act. Following the devastating 1963 dynamiting of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Ellwanger was asked by the parents of Denise McNair to participate in the combined funeral service set for three of the girls. His second congregation was in the African American community of Milwaukee, from 1967–2001, where he helped develop a racially integrated congregation, with service and advocacy programs that reached low-income people. In retirement, he worked through 2012 as an organizer for WISDOM, a Wisconsin nonprofit that helps develop congregation-based organizations that work on justice issues throughout the state. He is the author of “Strength for the Struggle,” a 2014 volume that draws on 55 years of urban ministry.
Call to Conscience Award
Rev. Arthur Price, Jr.
Rev. Arthur Price, Jr. serves as pastor of the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. He earned his undergraduate degree in criminal justice from Temple University in Philadelphia and went on to complete the Master of Divinity degree with an emphasis in biblical studies at Colgate Rochester Divinity School. Prior to his time in ministry, Rev. Price served as a prosecution assistant for 11 years in both the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the Monroe County District Attorney’s Office in Rochester, New York. Since beginning his service at Birmingham’s first Black church in 2002, he has worked diligently to balance the church’s historic past with a powerful,
faith-forward ministry that echoes its rich history by addressing current issues and community needs, all while identifying effective ways to preserve the 1873 structure that is home to a congregation of almost 300 and that draws more than 100,000 visitors annually.
Horizon Award
Daphne Ayodele
Daphne Ayodele is a dedicated senior majoring in biology at Stillman College. She hails from Ekiti State, Nigeria. With a passion for healthcare and equity, she’s set to pursue a Master of Science degree in nursing, specializing in pediatrics, and aspires to become a nurse practitioner driving health equity. As program manager at The House Tuscaloosa, she oversees the after-school garden program at Central Elementary School. Her diverse experience includes internships at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, The University of Alabama, the American Heart Association, and Harding University. When she’s not studying, Daphne enjoys watching anime and TV shows, traveling, and cooking.
Legacy Banquet Award Recipients & Speakers
2025
Judy Woodruff, speaker
Samad Gillani, Horizon Award
Dr. William M. Chace, Call to Conscience Award
Vera Jenkins Booker, Mountaintop Award
2024
Clarence Page, speaker
Adebola Aderibigbe, Horizon Award
G. Douglas Jones, Call to Conscience Award
Richard Arrington Jr., Mountaintop Award
2023
Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore, speaker
Christopher Gill, Horizon Award
Lt. Gen. Willie Williams, Call to Conscience Award
Lt. Col. George Hardy, Mountaintop Award
2022
Star Jones, speaker
Carina Villarreal, Horizon Award
Nahree Doh, Call to Conscience Award
The Honorable U.W. Clemon, Mountaintop Award
2020
Laura Ling, speaker
Emma Mansberg, Horizon Award
Chris England, Call to Conscience Award
Mary Allen Jolley, Mountaintop Award
2019
Byron Pitts, speaker
Quinvarlio S. Kelly, Jr., Horizon Award
Steven D. Anderson, Call to Conscience Award
Charles Steele, Jr., Mountaintop Award
2018
Danny Glover, speaker
Marissa Navarro, Horizon Award
Ellen Griffith, Call to Conscience Award
Frank Dukes, Mountaintop Award
2017
John Quiñones, speaker
Fan Yang, Horizon Award
Isabel Rubio, Call to Conscience Award
Wendell Paris, Mountaintop Award
2016
Douglas Jones, speaker
Elliot Spillers, Horizon Award
Theresa Burroughs, Call to Conscience Award
William Baxley, Mountaintop Award
2015
Juan Williams, speaker
Tyler Merriweather, Horizon Award
Ken W. Swindle, Call to Conscience Award
Arthur L. Bacon, Mountaintop Award
2014
John Cochran, speaker
Melanie Gotz, Horizon Award
Cleophus Thomas, Jr., Call to Conscience Award
E. Roger Sayers, Mountaintop Award
2013
Cynthia Tucker, speaker
Lubna Alansari, Horizon Award
Michael Culver, Call to Conscience Award
Paula Sue Burnum-Hayes, Mountaintop Award
2012
Terri Sewell, speaker
Gwendolyn Ferreti, Horizon Award
Bryan Fair, Call to Conscience Award
Nimrod Quintus Reynolds, Mountaintop Award
2011
Hank Klibanoff, speaker
Sean Hudson, Horizon Award
Harrison Taylor, Call to Conscience Award
William H. Lanford, Mountaintop Award
2010
Trudier Harris, speaker
Jerria Martin, Horizon Award
Dorothy McDade, Call to Conscience Award
Ella Odessa Warrick, Mountaintop Award
2009
Artur Davis, speaker
Kendra Key, Horizon Award
Walt Maddox, Call to Conscience Award
Thomas W. Linton, Mountaintop Award