Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute
“Sixty Years After Selma and We’re Still Marching”
A Tribute to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Hilberry Gateway Performing Arts Center
4715 Cass Ave, Detroit, MI 48202
Friday, January 17, 2025
Program 10:00am-12pm
Wayne State University will hold its Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on Friday, January 17, 2025, at 10am-12:00pm in the Hilberry Gateway Performing Arts Center.
2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the WSU MLK Tribute and the 60th anniversary of the historic Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights March led by Rev. Dr. King. Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III, a prophetic pastor, passionate leader, social activist and educator, will be the program’s keynote speaker. Dr. Haynes will speak about the significance of the Selma March and the Civil Rights Movement.
The tribute will feature performances by the Detroit PAL Cheerleaders, Wayne State University Freedom Player and Social Justice Theatre Ensemble and the Detroit Academy of Arts and Sciences Show Choir. The Dr. Arthur L. Johnson Community Leadership Award will be presented posthumously to Dr. William F. Pickard and will be accepted by his daughter, Mary. Former US Senator Debbie Stabenow will be the recipient of the Warrior Strong Distinguished Service Award.
The event will be taped and shown on King Day, Monday, January 20, 2025, at 10am at wayne.edu/live.
Rev. Dr. Frederick Douglass Haynes III is a prophetic pastor, passionate leader, social activist, eloquent orator, and inspirational educator. Dr. Haynes has devoted his life to economic justice and empowerment in under-served communities and touching and transforming the lives of the disenfranchised. For the past 40 years, Dr. Haynes has served as the visionary and innovative senior pastor at Friendship-West in Dallas, Texas, where, under his leadership, the ministry and membership of the church has grown from less than 100 members in 1983 to currently more than 13,000.
Over the years, Dr. Haynes has received numerous civic, political, educational, and philanthropic awards. This past May, during the 69th Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner, the Detroit NAACP presented him with the William Monroe Trotter Freedom & Justice Award. In 2022, Dr, Haynes was awarded the Joseph R. Biden, Jr., Presidential Lifetime Achievement Leadership Award in Community Service.
The prestigious April 4th Foundation honored him with the I am a Man Award in 2020 and he joined the ranks of past honorees that include Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Diane Nash, Congressman John Lewis, and Harry Belafonte’. In 2016, Dr. Haynes was inducted into the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.
One of Dr. Haynes’ highest honors was to give remarks in 2013 at the memorial service of one of the most respected world leaders, President Nelson Mandela. This privilege was even more special because it took place in the Washington National Cathedral, the same sanctuary where Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his last sermon.
In 2012, Ebony Magazine named him to its Power 100 list of most influential African Americans, and he had the prestigious honor of being the featured speaker at The Congressional Black Caucus’ Annual Prayer Breakfast in 2011.
A published author of several books, his most recent book, “Rockin’ the World with Your Words: An Essential Guide to Developing and Delivering a Life Changing Message,” shares the insight and the personal strategies Dr. Haynes has used to deliver thousands of life changing messages. And, for the past 10 years, he has given the message during the Praise Break for the nationally syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show which reaches over 70 cities daily.
Dr. Haynes is married to Debra Peek-Haynes and they are the proud parents of one adult daughter, Abeni Jewel Haynes.
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Dr. Arthur L. Johnson Community Leadership Awards Presented by
Speaker's Reception Presented by
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