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
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