Update: 3/1//2013 4:16 PM CST BY TOM JOYNER FOUNDATION
Contact: Gayle Barge, gbarge@centralstate.edu (937) 376-6216
Edwina Harris, eharris@centralstate.edu (937) 376-6198
For Immediate Release
WILBERFORCE, OH – Noted civil rights activists David Myers and Winona
Beemer Myers, ‘67 will deliver the keynote address at Central State University’s 126th
Charter Day Convocation on March 5 at 10 a.m. in the Paul Robeson Cultural and
Performing Arts Center auditorium.
Four distinguished gradutes to be inducted into Alumni Achievement Hall of Fame:
Darryl T. Owens, ’59
Kenneth S. Hudson, ’61 (posthumously)
Mildred C. Joyner, ’71
Shirley L. Mays, ’76.
During the summer of 1961, David and Winona Myers joined over 400 civil rights
activists called the Freedom Riders who traveled together into the South often escorted
across state lines by federal troops and law enforcement officials. Both of the Myers
were arrested and served lengthy sentences. David spent 22 days in the Jackson City
Jail and Mississippi’s Parchman State Penitentiary. Of nearly 400 activists jailed during
that summer, it is believed that Winona, then age 19, served the longest sentence at the
Parchman prison from June 11th to December 25th. Oprah Winfrey recognized David
Myers as an American hero during a special segment dedicated to the Freedom Riders.
The Myers will share their experiences during the Convocation which honors the
establishment 126-years ago of the state-sponsored Combined Normal and Industrial
Department at Wilberforce University, which later became Central State University and
a member of the University System of Ohio.
The four distinguished graduates who will be inducted in the Alumni Achievement
Hall of Fame are:
Darryl T. Owens, ’59 – State Representative for the 43rd District in Louisville, KY,
former Jefferson County Fiscal Court commissioner and assistant attorney
general for the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Kenneth S. Hudson, ’61 – (Posthumously) Former National Basketball
Association referee, corporate executive at Coca Cola and vice president of
community affairs for the Boston Celtics organization.
Mildred C. Joyner, ’71 – Current president of the Council on Social Work
Education, US representative to the International Association of Schools of
Social Work and member of the DNB First community bank board of directors.
Shirley L. Mays, ’76 – Dean of the Phoenix School of Law, former Ohio Supreme
Court clerk to Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and Associate Dean for Academic
Affairs at the Capital University Law School.
The annual Charter Day Convocation affirms the important contributions of
Central State University locally, regionally, nationally and globally.
About Central State University
Founded in 1887, Central State University academically prepares students with diverse
backgrounds and educational needs for leadership and service in an increasingly
complex and rapidly changing world.
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