Annual luncheon: "We need to stop playing the dream game," one says.

By Judy Magid
The Salt Lake Tribune
01/18/2005
http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_2528253

Julie Cunningham was thrilled to get bumped up to first class on a leg of her Continental Airlines flight to speak at the Salt Lake Branch NAACP Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Luncheon on Monday.
The executive director/CEO of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials in Washington, D.C., Cunningham told some 400 guests that she likes sitting in the first-class section.
"I like to look around and see people who look like me sitting there. I am especially happy when I see a woman or a person of color in the first pilot's seat.

"And I want to see someone who looks like me sitting in Continental's CEO chair."
As head of an organization with the mission to strengthen the position of minorities in the transportation industry, Cunningham did not mince words.

"A seven-lane highway is not much use to someone who does not have a car," she said, adding that while the majority of Americans rely on cars, minorities are less likely to own a car. "Only 7 percent
of white households own no cars, but 24 percent of African American households have no car; 17 percent of Latino households and 13 percent of Asian households own no cars."

Cunningham also noted that nationally, minorities represent 55 percent of public-transit riders and contribute about $4.5 billion annually to public transit through passenger fares.

Speakers at the luncheon included Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr., Rep. Jim Matheson, U.S. Attorney Paul Warner, Honorary Chairwoman Perla Gheiler, University of Utah President Michael Young and
NAACP Branch President Jeanetta Williams.

Edward L. Lewis Jr., president of the Tri-State Conference, luncheon chairman and master of ceremonies, reminded guests, "We are here to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream,
a dream pertaining to the unfilled promises made to the freed slaves and their descendents of first-class citizenship in America." Lewis went on to say: "It is OK to refer to the dream, but it is not
OK to continue to talk about the dream year after year without making the changes necessary to make the dream reality. We need to stop playing the dream game, the feel-good game, and move
forward to deal with the truth of the reality game.

"I often hear, 'The children are our future.' I agree, but at some point in time we will have to stop deferring the dream to our children and let the future take of the future while we deal with the
present." He added: "I am a grandfather. I am not going to wait for my children or my grandchildren to make the dream come true." The 22nd annual luncheon honored retired Judge Raymond Uno
with the 2005 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Award. The 2005 Rosa Parks Award was presented to Joanne R. Milner.

In more than 50 years of volunteer work, Uno has served as president of the Utah Coordinating Committee on Civil Rights, president of the Salt Lake Chapter and National Japanese American
Citizens League, co-founder of the Utah Minority Bar Association, and has served on the board of the National Japanese American National Museum and the Governor's Martin Luther King/Civil Rights
Commission.

Milner, a former Salt Lake City Council Member and a three-term state representative, is the community-relations program manager at Horizonte Instruction and Training Center in Salt Lake City. She also has served on the Governor's Commission for Women and Families, and on numerous community boards, including Centro de la Familia, the Indian Walk-In Center and the Rape Recovery
Center.

Clem Collins IV received a $1,000 scholarship presented by Larry H. Miller. A University of Utah sophomore, Collins plans a career in engineering. Recognition also was given to students in grades
seven to 12 who won awards in the Martin Luther King Jr. statewide essay contest.
 

magid'@'sltrib.com

Annual luncheon: "We need to stop playing the dream game," one says.

By Judy Magid
The Salt Lake Tribune
01/18/2005
http://www.sltrib.com/search/ci_2528253

Julie Cunningham was thrilled to get bumped up to first class on a leg of her Continental Airlines flight to speak at the Salt Lake Branch NAACP Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Luncheon on Monday.
The executive director/CEO of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials in Washington, D.C., Cunningham told some 400 guests that she likes sitting in the first-class section.
"I like to look around and see people who look like me sitting there. I am especially happy when I see a woman or a person of color in the first pilot's seat.

"And I want to see someone who looks like me sitting in Continental's CEO chair."
As head of an organization with the mission to strengthen the position of minorities in the transportation industry, Cunningham did not mince words.

"A seven-lane highway is not much use to someone who does not have a car," she said, adding that while the majority of Americans rely on cars, minorities are less likely to own a car. "Only 7 percent
of white households own no cars, but 24 percent of African American households have no car; 17 percent of Latino households and 13 percent of Asian households own no cars."

Cunningham also noted that nationally, minorities represent 55 percent of public-transit riders and contribute about $4.5 billion annually to public transit through passenger fares.

Speakers at the luncheon included Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr., Rep. Jim Matheson, U.S. Attorney Paul Warner, Honorary Chairwoman Perla Gheiler, University of Utah President Michael Young and
NAACP Branch President Jeanetta Williams.

Edward L. Lewis Jr., president of the Tri-State Conference, luncheon chairman and master of ceremonies, reminded guests, "We are here to remember Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream,
a dream pertaining to the unfilled promises made to the freed slaves and their descendents of first-class citizenship in America." Lewis went on to say: "It is OK to refer to the dream, but it is not
OK to continue to talk about the dream year after year without making the changes necessary to make the dream reality. We need to stop playing the dream game, the feel-good game, and move
forward to deal with the truth of the reality game.

"I often hear, 'The children are our future.' I agree, but at some point in time we will have to stop deferring the dream to our children and let the future take of the future while we deal with the
present." He added: "I am a grandfather. I am not going to wait for my children or my grandchildren to make the dream come true." The 22nd annual luncheon honored retired Judge Raymond Uno
with the 2005 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Award. The 2005 Rosa Parks Award was presented to Joanne R. Milner.

In more than 50 years of volunteer work, Uno has served as president of the Utah Coordinating Committee on Civil Rights, president of the Salt Lake Chapter and National Japanese American
Citizens League, co-founder of the Utah Minority Bar Association, and has served on the board of the National Japanese American National Museum and the Governor's Martin Luther King/Civil Rights
Commission.

Milner, a former Salt Lake City Council Member and a three-term state representative, is the community-relations program manager at Horizonte Instruction and Training Center in Salt Lake City. She also has served on the Governor's Commission for Women and Families, and on numerous community boards, including Centro de la Familia, the Indian Walk-In Center and the Rape Recovery
Center.

Clem Collins IV received a $1,000 scholarship presented by Larry H. Miller. A University of Utah sophomore, Collins plans a career in engineering. Recognition also was given to students in grades
seven to 12 who won awards in the Martin Luther King Jr. statewide essay contest.
 

magid'@'sltrib.com