Omaha City Councilman Ben Gray will deliver a commemorative address on the UNMC campus on Monday, Jan. 18, to honor slain civil rights leader, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Gray’s speech, which is sponsored by UNMC and The Nebraska Medical Center, will be in the Truhlsen Campus Events Center in the Sorrell Center.
"We are pleased to bring a city leader and tireless community volunteer to campus," said Myrna Newland, M.D., director of UNMC’s Equity Office and coordinator of the Martin Luther King Day Commemoration Committee. "I believe our campus can look forward to an inspiring and relevant speech."
The annual address is regularly one of the city’s best attended events on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This year, the event starts at noon, is free and open to the public.
Gray is a first-time elected city council member for the 2nd District.
Prior to his election, Gray had a 30-year career as a television photojournalist and host of "Kaleidoscope" on Omaha’s ABC’s affiliate station, KETV NewsWatch 7. The show featured passionate discussions about a variety of community issues. Gray has won multiple local, regional and national awards as a reporter, photojournalist and host.
Gray dedicates much of his time to improving the lives of severely at-risk youth and gang members. He is the emergency team director for Impact One Community Connection, Inc. — a non-profit, violence prevention organization. Its members partnered with the emergency department at The Nebraska Medical Center to use intervention strategies to decrease youth violence, such as immediate engagement after violent incidents to reduce retaliation attempts.
In 1998, Gray and his wife, Freddie, began working with the African-American Achievement Council to close the achievement gaps of children in the Omaha Public School (OPS) District.
A sought after motivational speaker, Gray titled his Martin Luther King Jr. Day speech, "Strength to Love," after one of Dr. King’s most read books.
As the state’s only academic health science center, UNMC is on the leading edge of health care. Breakthroughs are possible because hard-working researchers, educators and clinicians are resolved to work together to fuel discovery. In 2009, UNMC’s extramural research support topped $100 million for the first time, resulting in the creation of 3,600 jobs in Nebraska. UNMC’s academic excellence is shown through its award-winning programs, and its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through its commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading health care centers. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 550 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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