Honoree declines MLK Peacemaker award, expresses solidarity with Long Beach Black leaders
'I cannot, in good conscience, accept this award at this time,' Órale executive director Gaby Hernandez said.
Citing the need to uplift Black leaders, Órale executive director Gaby Hernandez said Thursday she would not accept a Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker award, a move that Long Beach Black community activists say will intensify their push for better representation at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade.
One day earlier, City Councilmember Suely Saro of the Sixth District had announced that Hernandez and four other Long Beach community leaders would receive the Peacemaker honor. But the move drew criticism from Long Beach's Black community because just one of the award honorees, Katherine Bayard, is Black.
Saro's naming of Grand Marshals for Saturday's Martin Luther King Jr. Parade had drawn similar controversy, with just one of the five individuals being Black.
Following a letter signed by 200 leaders urging Saro to publicly address the erasure of Black leaders in this year's event, an online petition has garnered over 400 signatures supporting their cause.
The Peacemaker Honoree Award highlights individuals' contributions to advancing justice and equity. Saro said in a Facebook post that Hernandez, the executive director of Organizing Rooted in Abolition, Liberation and Empowerment (Órale) and a formerly undocumented immigrant, "recognizes the power of intersectionality and inclusive leadership in addressing complex social injustices."
But in response to the growing backlash from the Black community, Hernandez said Thursday that she would decline the award.
"I cannot, in good conscience, accept this award at this time," Hernandez said in a statement shared by Órale on social media. She expressed gratitude for the recognition but emphasized the importance of standing with Black community leaders.
"I believe it is more important to stand in solidarity with their demands," she said. "Therefore, I am respectfully declining this award and urging District 6 to meet the requests outlined by these 200 Black leaders."
Saro's office did not respond to requests for comment regarding the controversy, but Hernandez's decision to decline the award has resonated with community leaders.
"I felt a wave of emotions," said Autrilla "Sheba" Gillis, a community activist and one of the leaders who signed the letter to Saro. "Dr. King said, 'There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.' Gaby embodies that quote."
Jocelyn Howard, owner of Howard Coaching and Consulting, also signed the letter to Saro and said Hernandez's decision made her "feel seen."
Howard encouraged Black elders in the community to follow Hernandez's lead. "Too many of our leaders have been tucked away by means of dismantling our efforts and spirit," she said.
"Right now, our elders and those complacent with this nonsense are part of the issue. We need support in changing the narrative of how our culture is seen and represented," Howard added.
Bill Breaker, who volunteered to assist with the parade's planning, said Hernandez's response should set the standard.
"It's a proper response to the people that organizations like Órale represent," he said. "I applaud her because what you'd think is the normal thing to do is becoming rarer these days."
Those who signed the letter to Saro say they are not planning to formally boycott Saturday's Martin Luther King Jr. parade and celebration. However, they said they will refuse to attend until the event reflects the people and the struggles that cemented King's legacy as a transformative leader in the Black community.
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