January 11, 2008: The Shaker Heights Human Relations Commission has chosen recipients for its 2008 Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Human Relations: Lomond Community Association officers Brian Yusko, president, and Bryan Moore, vice president. In addition, the Commission chose Dr. Winston Richie to receive a special Lifetime Achievement Award. This year Shaker Heights and the nation will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the death of Dr. King.
The awards presentation will be held on January 28 at the Shaker Community Building, 3450 Lee Road at 7 PM. The 40-member Heritage Chorale, under the direction of Sylvia L. Perry, will perform. Refreshments will be served at a reception after the awards ceremony. At 8 PM City Council‘s regular meeting will be held at City Hall Council Chambers, 3400 Lee Road.
The Human Relations award is given annually to individuals or groups whose actions during the previous year exemplify Dr. King's values of compassion, humility and service. The Commission seeks nominees who have made a significant contribution through volunteerism and community service, helping others and building community in Shaker Heights.
Yusko and Moore were chosen in recognition of their leadership in the revitalization of the Lomond Community Association, an effort joined and achieved by dozens of residents. The two men demonstrated vigorous and sustained commitment to the Association’s resurgence and to its ongoing role of building community. As a team, Yusko and Moore encouraged participation and cooperation among the neighborhood’s diverse population.
Dr. Winston Richie’s Award is given to honor the life and achievements of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of his death and the enactment of the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA). The FHA, which was signed into law just one week after Dr. King’s assassination, prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and family status. Dr. Richie has dedicated the majority of his career as a real estate professional to furthering the goals of this important civil rights law while upholding the dream of Dr. King by making fair housing a reality for many families.
He and his wife were among the first African Americans to integrate Shaker’s Ludlow neighborhood. He helped found the Ludlow Association, which was created to prevent racial re-segregation. Richie later became executive director of the East Suburban Council for Open Communities and its housing service, where he located housing for black families to buy or rent.
Richie has been a vocal leader for fair housing in Shaker Heights, in the region, and throughout the nation, lecturing at Harvard’s JFK School of Government and the University of Texas’ LBJ School of Public Affairs. He also served as Shaker’s first African American member of City Council.
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