After the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, Frederick and Marjorie Hurst made a decision to come home to Springfield to try and make a difference in their community.
“We were both set up in Washington, where we would have lived well, but then Martin Luther King got shot, and we have been motivated since then,” explains Frederick Hurst. “To be frank, I was not that active in the civil rights movement before that, but since then we have both been very active.”
For Hurst, as with many people across the country, King’s death changed the course of their lives.
“We were just shocked into a different life,” he says, “It was not a rash decision. It was a determined decision to come back home and make an impact. And, we weren’t alone. That happened to people across the country who decided to go home.”
On April 10, the Hursts will be among the honorees at Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services’ fourth annual Social Justice Awards for their work in the community, specifically the publication African-American Point of View, a monthly print and online news magazine.
The awards will be presented at a virtual celebration at 11 a.m. Tickets are $50 and are available online at mlkjrfamilyservices.org or by calling 413-746-3655, ext. 127.
Ronn Johnson, president and CEO of Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center in Springfield. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)
“When we began this in 2016 it was really about being able to celebrate those individuals who are iconic leaders in education, economic development, health disparities, entrepreneurship and race relations,” says Ronn Johnson, president and CEO of Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services, explaining how the recipients are nominated by the community. “There are a lot of names that kept coming up, and it’s obvious that those folks are affecting people across the spectrum.”
Along with the Hursts, the awards will be presented to: retired educator Cliff Flint for the area of education; Annamarie Golden, director of community relations for Baystate Health for the area of health; Jeff Sullivan, president and CEO of New Valley Bank & Trust; and Zelmon “Zee” Johnson, owner of Olive Tree Books-n-Voices for the area of entrepreneurship. A posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award will honor the civil rights work of the late Rance A. O’Quinn, who retired as member of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and was long active in community service, including having been a two-term president of the Greater Springfield Chapter of the NAACP. He died last June.
The event will also honor change makers in the community, including Ralpheal Desir, Zaida Govan, Ed Nuñez, Shakenna Williams and Jenal Rentas.
Keynote speaker will be retired state Supreme Judicial Court Judge Roderick L. Ireland, a native of Springfield, who says his message will focus on the importance of community activism.
“We all have a collective responsibility to lift up each other and that’s what the recipients are doing,” the judge says. “I think Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be so pleased to see that there are people out there who are trying to make a difference.”
The Hursts, who are both attorneys and have been politically active in Springfield, were ultimately chosen for the impact Point of View has had in the community, according to Johnson.
“This paper has become a place that not only the Black community looks to for information, but clearly the larger community also to get an understanding on what is happening on the ground level,” Johnson says. “They focus on topics that relate to race, culture and issues of oppression and how that impacts people of color in the city and beyond. The publication is an incredibly valuable asset.”
Marjorie Hurst served on the School Committee for 12 years, and Frederick Hurst ran for office several times. But, beyond politics, he says, as a couple, they wanted to give a voice to people they believed desperately needed an outlet.
“We felt like if we could figure out how to produce an excellent paper and get it well distributed on time every month, that people would buy into it, and they have,” Frederick Hurst says.
Point of View is approaching its 20th anniversary. The past several years and the pandemic, in particular, have taken a toll on advertising revenue, according to Hurst. Most of the writers are now community volunteers.
“I don’t think we could get a more loyal bunch of writers,” he says. “These are people who have always had something to say, but never had an outlet. If for only that reason, we are hanging on.”
The goal of the social justice awards, explains Johnson, is not just to focus on people who you would traditionally see as social activists, but those who through their work in areas like health care, banking and business are affecting and improving the life of residents across Greater Springfield and Western Massachusetts.
Zelmon "Zee" Johnson is the owner of Olive Tree Books-n-Voices, a community bookstore located on Hancock Street. (Don Treeger / The Republican)
Zelmon “Zee” Johnson is being honored with the entrepreneurship award for her success with her independent bookstore, Olive Tree Books-n-Voices in Springfield.
Johnson opened the store on Hancock Street in 2005 and established it as more than just a book shop.
“The bookstore was designed purposely as a social hub,” she says. “Folks came to the bookstore and browsed and networked, so we did not have an online presence intentionally because our business model was to have folks get to know each other.”
In the face of the pandemic, Johnson adjusted her business model to do phone and online ordering and offer curbside pick-up. Now, the store has limited hours and allows only three customers in the store at one time. She also established a personal shopping system in which customers can reserve specific times to browse solo.
“I can tell you that we remained steady, and I am very appreciative to all of my customers who have supported the store even through this pandemic,” she says.
The Black Lives Matter protests that occurred after the death of George Floyd by a white police officer last May also brought new customers to the store, Johnson said.
“I have been able to establish a lot of new relationships with customers coming from outside of the Springfield area. I have had a lot of customers from the Amherst and Northampton areas and even from Connecticut because they wanted to support the book store because it’s owned by an African American,” she says. “Many of the new customers have been Caucasian, and they have really wanted to tap into race relations. They came in wanting to have conversations about how to help their children acknowledge their privilege, but also understand that the have to treat everyone with dignity.”
The MLK Jr. Family Services Social Justice Award winners and change maker award winners. From left to right Shakenna Williams; Jeff Sullivan; Zaida Govan; Ed Nunez with his mom; Clift Flint with his granddaughter; Bea Dewberry and brothers for Rance O’Quinn; Annamarie Golden; Ralpheal Desir with his son.
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