PEORIA — Appellate Court Judge Mary McDade has been named this year's recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Leadership Award.
McDade, a member of the 3rd District Appellate Court of Illinois in Ottawa, was honored at the 34th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Dr. Commemorative Service on Monday at Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Peoria. The service followed the MLK Freedom March.
The leadership award was presented by the King Holiday Committee of Peoria in a ceremony that also announced winners of the annual MLK Drum Major Awards.
McDade's award goes to an individual or group that has made a significant contribution having great impact to our community, the committee said in a news release.
"Her life has been wrapped up in housing, education, jobs and justice," the committee said. "Her mother and her father were strong advocates for equal justice. She has carried their legacy."
Fifty years ago this year, McDade became the first African-American elected to Peoria’s board of education. She was the first black person elected to public office in Peoria, the committee said.
"But her election was a ray of hope for a coalition bent on equality in housing, jobs, justice and, most importantly, education. Long before there was a phrase called school-to-prison pipeline, she
was taking a stand against unwarranted school expulsions. She kept on taking stands after she left the school board, but she eventually found new stages."
She enrolled in law school in 1981, when she was 41, and became a partner in a local law firm a decade later. By 2000, she was elected to the 3rd District Appellate Court, the committee said.
"Again, she was a first ... the first black female appellate court judge outside of Cook County ... which is why her opinions matter. In many cases, appellate court decisions are the final say simply because the vast majority of cases don’t reach Illinois’ Supreme Court," the committee said.
"As the 50th anniversary of her election to Peoria’s school board approaches, as the end of her second 10-year term on the appellate court nears, we are elated to honor a woman whose work has not stopped."
Also Monday, the committee presented the 2018 MLK Drum Major Awards to the following black Greek organizations for their ongoing and effective community service including providing college scholarships, mentoring, character development, minority business development, tutoring, and support:
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority
Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority