Minister: Don't stop striving

A speaker said there is 'empirical evidence that blacks are overcoming.'
By SEAN BARRON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- One of the Rev. Kenneth W. Paramore's childhood memories is of his family's dog continually barking while it was kept in an enclosed box in the basement.
The animal kept barking until his father cut a hole in the box.
Likewise, he continued, blacks and other minorities have overcome many obstacles and enjoy more freedoms and opportunities since the civil rights era of the 1960s and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in April 1968 in Memphis, Tenn. However, they need to continue the process of overcoming barriers, he said.
"Don't stop barking," the Rev. Mr. Paramore told an audience of several hundred who attended Thursday's fifth annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Breakfast at Youngstown State University.
Mr. Paramore, pastor of United Baptist Church in Akron and a 1984 graduate of The Rayen School, was the keynote speaker at the two-hour event, sponsored in part by YSU's Student Diversity Council and Office of Student Diversity Programs.
The pastor said that he is grateful for how historic events such as the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and King's 1963 March on Washington have shaped and influenced him personally and professionally.
"I don't remember Dr. King, but I thank God for his legacy and the opportunity to study it extensively," he said.
Models of success
Mr. Paramore used golfer Tiger Woods, tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams and actress Halle Berry as examples of what he said was "empirical evidence [blacks] are overcoming." People need to have hope to nurture and embrace a dream, which leads to a powerful vision, he continued.
Carrying the momentum of such a vision requires diverse teamwork, Mr. Paramore added.
The program opened with several musical performances by the Youngstown Connection, a musical group from the city schools. After Mr. Paramore's presentation, several YSU staff members as well as graduate and undergraduate students were the recipients of awards for their work, among other things, in promoting diversity on the campus.