MLK Association honors four; hears keynote from Cassius Cash

Press release from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County:

On January 20, 2020, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Association of Asheville and Buncombe County held a Candlelight Service to recognize several outstanding Buncombe County residents whose lives and work have emulated Dr. King’s legacy. The service was held at Central United Methodist Church at 6 p.m. on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday.

The keynote speaker was Cassius Cash, Superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and music was provided by the Tried Stone Missionary Baptist Church Choir, directed by Deacon Cornell Proctor. Also featured was a poetry performance by Shanita Jackson.

Many citizens honored over decades

Over a period of more than 30 years, educators, police officers, firemen, community activists, health professionals, and a variety of nonprofit organizations have been honored with awards for community service and humanitarian activities. The 2020 Honorees were social media influencer Aisha Adams; educator of former offenders Philip Cooper; community volunteer Lewis Isaac (1948 – 2019); and advocate for LGBTQ youth Adrian Parra.

Speaker Cassius Cash

Cash, Superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, previously served as superintendent at Boston National Historical Park and Boston African American National Historic Site, where he helped secure $4 million to reopen the African Meeting House, the oldest black church still in its original location in the country.

He began his federal career in 1991 with the US Forest Service as a wildlife biologist at the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington State. He worked with that agency for 18 years in Nebraska, Georgia, as a civil rights officer in Mississippi, and as deputy forest supervisor at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest in southern Oregon. He also served as the deputy regional director and chief of staff in the Northeast Regional Office.

Cash holds a BS in biology from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and studied wildlife management at Oregon State University.

Honoree profiles

Ms. Adams is the founder of Aisha Adams Media Group, which specializes in assisting businesses with social media expertise. She has worked with groups such as Green Opportunities, Word on the Street and the YMI Cultural Center. Currently she is working on Equity Over Everything, a project to advance equity by closing the gaps in social equity, entrepreneurship, and land ownership within low-wealth communities.

Mr. Cooper is a Career Navigator for A-B Tech Community College and the Coordinator of A-B Tech’s UpSkill WNC Program. He helps people in transition from incarceration to establish better lives, mentoring about thirty clients to access higher education and sustainable-wage jobs.

Mr. Isaac, honored posthumously, was one of the original eight black students who integrated Davie County High School in the 1960s. He retired as Director of Human Resources for the VA Medical Center after 27 years. Many community boards benefited from his service, including Building Bridges, Manna Food Bank, the Asheville Housing Authority, the American Red Cross, Our Voice, Asheville City Schools and the Governor’s Council on Sickle Cell & Related Disorders.  The award honoring Mr. Isaac was presented to his daughter, Toni Taylor.

Mr. Parra is serving as the Executive Director of Youth OUTright, which provides advocacy, support and resources for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth of ages 14 to 23 in eighteen counties in western North Carolina. Through his work, he empowers LGBTQ youth of our region and is cultivating a culture of equity and compassion.