2011 Black History Heroes

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Dr. Clayborne Carson
Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute

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Selected in 1985 by the late Mrs. Coretta Scott King to edit and publish the papers of her late husband, Dr. Clayborne Carson, founding director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, has devoted his professional life to the study of Dr. King and the movements he inspired. Under his direction, the King Papers Project has produced six volumes of a definitive, comprehensive edition of speeches, sermons, correspondence, publications, and unpublished writings. Dr. Carson has served Atlanta's Morehouse College as a Martin Luther King, Jr. distinguished professor and executive director of the King Collection. He has also been a visiting professor/fellow at American University, the University of California, Berkeley, Emory University, Harvard University, the Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford, and the L'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in Paris.

Dr. Carson's experience in the civil rights movement is reflected in his writings. His first book, In Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960s, remains the definitive history of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Published in 1981, In Struggle won the Organization of American Historians' Frederick Jackson Turner Award. His other publications include Malcolm X: The FBI File (1991) and he is co-author of African American Lives: The Struggle for Freedom (2005), a comprehensive survey of African American history.

Dr. Carson also served as senior advisor for "Eyes on the Prize," a 14 part, award-winning, public television series on the civil rights movement and co-edited the Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader (1991). In addition, he served as historical advisor for "Freedom on My Mind," which was nominated for an Oscar in 1995, as well as for "Chicano!" (1996), "Blacks and Jews" (1997), "Citizen King" (2004), "Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power" (2005), and "Have You Heard from Johannesburg?" (2010).

Naa Dodua (Diane Green)
From Heart to Hand

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Naa Dodua, also known as Diane Green is a widely respected community leader, mentor, educator, artist, and social entrepreneur known for her efforts on behalf of at-risk inner city youth. She is the founder and director of From Heart to Hand, an organization specializing in education, international relations, and Rites of Passage programs for African youth and young adults.
 
From Heart to Hand's unique Rites of Passage program offers students the opportunity to travel to Egypt and Ghana to participate in a Sankofa Anamantuo, an African cotillion created by Ms. Dodua. In 2011, From Heart to Hand will host its first African American Youth Entrepreneur Expo and will continue with Pathways to Success (a program for freshman students entering high school) and Phoenix Rising Life Skills Training and Intervention (a program for students designed with an understanding of cultural diversity and multiculturalism).
 
Using her 20 years of experience as a choreographer and dance instructor, Ms. Dodua has also developed and implemented performing arts tours and immersion programs around the globe, traveling with students to New York, China, Mexico, and Brazil. She has coordinated special events such as benefits for 9-11, the American Red Cross, and survivors of Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti. Ms. Dodua has served on the Mayor's task force in Oakland and on various boards and local committees. Through her efforts, Ms. Dodua strives to change the current structure of violence and poverty to one of peace, to be of service to humanity, and to promote entrepreneurship and self sufficiency in our local communities.

Reverend Carolyn Dyson
African American Breast Health Program at California Pacific Medical Center

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Having beaten breast cancer ten years ago, Reverend Carolyn Dyson now fights the disease on behalf of African American and other at-risk communities through the promotion of early detection, breast cancer education, and partnership building. Reverend Dyson is the manager of community health advocacy and outreach at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), where she heads both the African American Breast Health and Sister to Sister Breast Health programs.
 
Reverend Dyson's priority has been to build bridges that make a difference in the African American and other at-risk communities. Her creative and innovative approaches to early detection breast cancer education and partnership building have resulted in more than 1,400 uninsured San Francisco women screened at CPMC and over 35 program partnerships established citywide.
 
In 2010, her programs for uninsured women at CPMC screened 367 women and found four positive for breast cancer. Each woman remains in treatment and receives full, no-cost services, including transportation. In December 2010, Reverend Dyson's program took the CPMC "beyond medicine" message of early detection to female inmates in San Francisco County Jail no. 2. Reverend Dyson has also served as spokesperson for CPMC before both the Health Committee and the Budget Committee of the California State Legislature and founded the Over-Flowing Cup Breast Health program. She is a board member of the Friends of Faith Foundation and the Bayview Hunters Point Multi Purpose Senior Center; and a member of San Francisco Business and Professional Women, Inc.

JoLynn Washington
Jose Ortega Elementary School

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JoLynn Washington began working at Jose Ortega Elementary School in 1990, unaware that she was embarking on her life calling. Her first position at Jose Ortega was working with students with special needs. She then became an elementary advisor and acted as a liaison between students and teachers. During this time, she earned her teaching credential at San Francisco State University and taught at 21st Century Academy and Glen Park schools before returning to Jose Ortega Elementary.
 
At Jose Ortega, Ms. Washington has taught first and second grades and served as a reading recovery teacher. She later became a reading coach and brought professional development opportunities to the teaching staff. In 2006, Ms. Washington became principal of Jose Ortega School, and in 2010, the school reached an Academic Performance Index of 811 for the first time. Ms. Washington credits this success to the members of the Jose Ortega school community and the children's determination. She believes that a good education can give children freedom and encourage them to break negative cycles and that educators are responsible for encouraging students to maximize their natural gifts to achieve academic success.

Also on KQED.org this week ...