The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award, presented by the Columbus Education Association, is the oldest award of its kind in Central Ohio. This is the 44th Anniversary of this award being presented on behalf of the teachers of Columbus City Schools. Our teachers are proud to commemorate Dr. King’s life and to salute annually someone who has worked to keep his dream alive.
The Helen Jenkins Davis Award is presented by the Columbus Education Association and named in honor of the first Black teacher hired by the Columbus City Schools. The award will be presented at the Annual King Awards Dinner to a Columbus teacher who has worked to promote social justice, diversity and human and civil rights. Helen Jenkins Davis was the first African-American educator hired by the Columbus City Schools District (1918). Helen Jenkins Davis, the daughter of a freed slave from Kentucky, resisted discrimination many times and served to promote human rights and equality until her death in 1987 at the age of 92.
The annual banquet will be held on Thursday, January 16, 2025, prior to the observance of the Dr. King national holiday. Anyone wishing to attend may call CEA for tickets at 614-253-4731.