Photo caption: A GROUP OF Katie Hall Education Foundation community supporters pose with the Halls beside a life-size cut-out of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the lobby of Gary City Hall.
By Junifer Hall
On February 21st at the Gary Common Council Meeting, the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Inc. was honored for its 10th Anniversary in providing public service to our world community. Founded by Chairman and CEO Junifer Hall,JD,MPA,MBA as a living memorial to The Honorable Katie Hall, the State of Indiana’s first African-American- male or female to be elected to the United States Congress- this 501© 3 organization made its formal debut in April 2013.In 1983, as a freshmen federal legislator, U.S. Representative Hall authored and introduced legislation in the United States House of Representatives to honor the life and work of international civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the form of a National Holiday. House of Representatives Bill (H.R. 3706) was signed into federal law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on November 2, 1983.
The Gary Common Council voted 9-0 in favor of a Resolution to recognize the Foundation for its ten (10) years of public service to the City of Gary, and beyond. All members of the Common Council were present for the historic vote consisting of President William Godwin (1st District); The Honorable David Fossett (2nd District); The Honorable Mary Brown (3rd District); Vice-President Tai A. Adkins (4th District); The Honorable Linda Barnes-Caldwell (5th District); The Honorable Dwight Williams (6th District); The Honorable Ronald Brewer, Sr. (Councilman-At-Large); The Honorable Darren Washington (Councilman-At-Large) and The Honorable Lori Latham (Councilwoman-At-Large).
Prior to the Roll Call for the vote in passage of the Resolution, Junifer Hall,JD,MPA,MBA, Chairman and CEO of the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Inc. spoke to the Councilmembers and other attendees in regard to some of the creative Programming the Foundation has engaged in throughout its ten (10) year history.
Annual Katie Hall Public Service Awards Luncheon
This prestigious event is usually held on the first Saturday in April each year, to coincide with the April 3rd birthday of U.S. Representative Katie Hall (D-IN-1)(1982-85). The Luncheon recognizes outstanding international and national individuals in the fields of business, government, law, and public service. Some of the past recipients of the Katie Hall Public Service Award are: former Gary Mayor Richard G. Hatcher; former U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Senate Co-sponsor of H.R. 3706); Ronald Reagan, America’s 40th President (posthumous); Rev.- Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO, The King Center; former Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson; Lee Hamilton, Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient and former Member of Congress; New York Times Best-Selling Author Margot Shetterly, Hidden Figures; Juan R. Thomas, 75th President of the National Bar Association; Dorothy R. Leavell, Editor and Publisher, The Crusader Newspaper Group; Billionaire Trial Lawyer Willie E. Gary; Eric J. Holcomb, the 51st and current Governor, State of Indiana; and Supreme Basileus Glenda Glover, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and President of Tennessee State University.
On Saturday, April 15, 2023, the Foundation will present its top Award to Mrs. Christina Shutt, Executive Director, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Illinois. Ms. Shutt is the only African-American in the history of the United States to lead a Presidential Library. Other April 15th honorees are: Chancellor Ken Iwama, Indiana University Northwest (Gary), and Dr. Vernon G. Smith, Indiana State Representative (14th House District).
Harriet Tubman Essay Contest
The Harriet Tubman Essay Contest for elementary (Grades 3-5 and junior high (Grades 6-8) schools was implemented in April 2013. Today, the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Inc. has awarded more than 1,500 Certificates of Achievement and Certificates of Excellence to elementary school students and their teachers in Lake, Porter, and LaPorte Counties in Indiana. The Foundation has awarded monetary scholarships to elementary and junior high school students as well. In prior years, some of the students’ creative and innovative works have been on public display at the Gary Public Library (Gary, Indiana) and the William H. Smith Memorial Library, Indiana State Historical Society (Indianapolis).
The 2023 theme for the elementary school students is “Let Freedom Ring”!
U.S. Abraham Lincoln Floral Remembrance Ceremony
In July 2014, the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Inc. began remembering the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America, for his primary role in ending legalized slavery in the United States of America; authoring the Gettysburg Address; authoring the Resolution for enactment of the 13th Amendment; authoring and issuing the Emancipation Proclamation; and for his leadership role of the Union forces during the American Civil War.
Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday Law Observance
On the third Sunday in January beginning in 2022, the Foundation has been educating the General Public about the federal legislative work of U.S. Representative Hall in authoring and sponsoring House of Representatives Bill, H.R. 3706, The “King Bill” in the United States Congress. The “King Bill” established the third Monday in January, in which to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., since 1986.
Katie Hall Day. On July 9, 2016, former conservative Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant declared “Katie Hall Day” in entire birth state of U.S. Representative Katie Hall, who was born in the Delta Town of Mound Bayou.
Deacon Emeritus-Attorney John Henry Hall,Ed.D.,LL.M., Chief Legal Counsel and Chaplain of the Katie Hall Educational Foundation, Inc. presented each Councilmember with a specially designed “Thank You” card for their public service to the City of Gary at the Council Meeting as well.
