A decade ago, local entrepreneurs Quint & Rishy Studer partnered with Commissioner Lumon May to host the first Living the Dream event in Pensacola. Their hope was to recognize people from all walks of life and from all parts of Pensacola, who represent the ideals of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Their hope was realized, and the Living the Dream banquet has been a social and musical highlight each year since. After a brief break from live celebrations due to the COVID pandemic, the event is back this year with an impressive cast of musicians, honorees, and guest speakers.
The 2023 Living the Dream event will be held on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at the Brownsville Community Center. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., for light food and drinks, and the program will start at 6:00 p.m. Music will be provided by the Motown Tribute Band, returning to Pensacola for their annual performance at this event. Tickets can be purchased here.
Civil Rights Legends to Highlight Event
Headlining the event will be two civil rights legends – the Rev. H.K. Matthews and Elizabeth Eckford.
Matthews, no stranger to the Pensacola area, moved here after serving in the Korean War. As a local minister, he became involved in the civil rights struggles of the day, and founded the Youth Chapter of the local NAACP and the Escambia County Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Matthews is credited with helping to break down job barriers for African Americans at several local businesses, including Sacred Heart Hospital, Southern Bell Telephone Company, and West Pensacola Bank.
Eckford, perhaps a new name to some Pensacolians, was part of the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African-American students who desegregated Little Rock Central High School in 1957. The local chapter of the NAACP had arranged for a carpool to bring the nine students to the first day of school, but the Eckford family didn’t have a telephone at the time.
The photo of Elizabeth, stoically walking through the angry crowd of white students, captured the intensity of the civil rights movement and focused the nation’s attention on the plight of African-Americans, especially young people, who simply wanted the same opportunities as their white counterparts.
2023 Living The Dream Honorees
Joining Matthews and Eckford will be this year’s Living the Dream honorees, who are recognized for their contributions to the Pensacola area and their commitment to the values of fairness, equality, inclusion, and justice as embodied by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
They include:
- Fannie Finkley, CEO of Caring Hearts, which distributes food and clothing to needy families in the Pensacola area.
- Celestine Lewis, Executive Director of the Jacqueline Harris Preparatory Academy
- John Chandler, long-time coach and mentor at Southern Youth Sports Association
- John Albritton, founder of the A&G Rattlers youth sports program, and one of the first African-American attorneys in Pensacola.
- Bruce Partington, attorney at Clark-Partington Law Firm, for his work supporting the removal of the Confederate Monument.
- Chandra Smiley, CEO of Community Health Northwest Florida, formerly known as Escambia Community Clinics.
- Grace McCaffery, founder of Latino Media Gulf Coast and Publisher of La Costa Latina newspaper.
- Kevin Robinson, Content Coach at Northwest Florida Daily News and former Community Solutions Reporter at the Pensacola News Journal.
Proceeds from Living the Dream benefit the Southern Youth Sports Association, a non-profit youth sports and mentorship organization serving Pensacola’s inner-city youth.
The event is sponsored in part by Quint and Rishy Studer and Troy and Ashley Rafferty. Other interested sponsors can learn more by calling 850-777-0165 or by emailing ltdpensacola@gmail.com