Celebrate the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the MLK Diversity Awards breakfast in Tempe. 

The event takes place on Jan. 9, at 7:30 a.m. at The Buttes, a Marriott Resort. Get details and $10 tickets at tempe.gov/MLK. Speakers include Dr. Lois Brown, Director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at Arizona State University, and Mayor Corey Woods.

This year's awards honor people and organizations that make our community a more welcoming and inclusive place. Honorees are selected by the Tempe Human Relations Commission from nominations submitted by community members. This year's honorees include:

Adult: Holly Herman

Holly Herman leads the University Presbyterian Church’s efforts to help refugee families. Holly created teams of people, many with bilingual skills, to cook meals, gather clothing and supplies, provide showers and laundry needs, arrange transportation, and even take the time to be a welcoming friend. When two Iranian refugee families needed a temporary place to live, she helped transform Sunday school classrooms into private residences. With the addition of a third family, UPC, with Holly’s leadership, has committed time and resources to support the seven refugees as they navigate their legal situation, learn about the culture and study the language, and prepare for their future employment.

Adult: Carol Stewart  

Carol Stewart developed programs for Tempe children as the African American Advisory Committee Youth Chair. Recently, she led Black History Craft Day at Tempe History Museum, which included 13 African-related crafts, 10 posters, games and races, a video on James Baldwin and Black scientists and a booklet on Black history. Watch a video about the activities.  

Youth: Mariangela Bernal Martinez

Mariangela Bernal Martinez is a Peer Leader with the youth organization Peer Solutions at Tempe High School. Peer leaders help end violence through education, advocacy and community engagement throughout their school and the community.

Youth: Rohn Ragland 

As President of Desert Vista High School's Black Student Union, Rohn Ragland has demonstrated his commitment to improving diversity. He has volunteered for numerous social justice causes, delivered public speeches on issues impacting minorities and led voter drives.

Community Group/Organization: Tempe Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority

For 50 years, Tempe Alumnae Chapter Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has provided information and services to Tempe’s youth and BIPOC communities. They offer programming to build self-esteem, support academic success and prepare girls ages 11 to 18 to be community leaders.  They also partner with the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) and their network of national and local partners to ensure accurate information is shared about vaccines.

Education: Kyrene de las Manitas Innovation Academy No Place for Hate Club 

The Kyrene de las Manitas Innovation Academy's No Place for Hate Club puts students in charge of creating a movement for good change. Club leaders polled students and discovered that nearly half of them did not believe the books in their classrooms represented their identities. The club held a book drive to collect books that fulfilled student requests and secured grant funding that paid for a complete diversity library for each Manitas classroom and started diversity libraries at the three other NPFH schools in Kyrene.

Business: Brick Road Coffee

Brick Road Coffee hosts many LGBTQA-friendly events every week, including book clubs, movie nights, open mic nights, free HIV testing, game nights. Last June, the coffee shop hosted a reproductive rights gathering that gave participants a safe space to come together, share their stories, and support one another.