RAVEN LIRIO;Â News Writer;Â liriorv@plu.edu
Pacific Lutheran University’s core values of social justice, sustainability and diversity come in a variety of forms across campus. Students and faculty all make efforts to follow these ideologies not only here at PLU, but in our everyday interactions throughout the community. Often times, we take for granted all the efforts that the people around us do to make a difference. However, one Lute in particular has gone above and beyond to bridge the gap regarding racial relations at PLU as well as Pierce County.
Melannie Denise Cunningham, known to most students as Ms. Melannie, is the director of Multicultural Outreach and Engagement for PLU Campus Ministry. During her time here at PLU, Cunningham has made countless efforts through her social media connections to make a positive impact on how race is viewed in America. While social justice has always been a huge aspect of her life, Cunningham went above and beyond by earning the recognition of Pierce County as this year’s recipient of the Tacoma Peace Prize.
“It’s been a long time for me. I didn’t even care if anyone was seeing me or not. I am just staying true to myself and to what I [believe] is my purpose in life,” said Cunningham. “Yet, to have someone see you and recognize you for your work is awesome and so humbling. People need to see other people that are doing it.”
Cunningham’s achievements include starting the “Hate Won’t Win Challenge,” which was born out of the Charleston Massacre back in June 2015. She, along with a coalition of pastors, police agencies and many more, made efforts to show an act of kindness to someone different than them. People pledged as a community to practice love and be kind to one another. Despite these efforts, however, the biggest question was how.
I am just staying true to myself and to what I [believe] is my purpose in life
-Melannie Denise Cunningham
Using her various social media connections, Cunningham reached out to the board of Genesis Housing and Development Coalition to run a conference. After approval, she approached PLU to sponsor the event in 2016. By the next year, driven by popularity and dedicated attention, production was moved officially to PLU. Cunningham received attention from multiple sources including state agencies, the Pierce County auditor, human resources for Tacoma and even the juvenile court. The event maxed its capacity and around 300 attendees all gathered to try to solve racial reconciliation issues.Preceeding the election of 2016, Cunningham started the People’s Gathering, a space for racial conversation to bring a revolution of consciousness to people in the community. While first formed in 2007 to recognize people for the good work they did in the community that deserved recognition, Cunningham felt that the tension after the election required attention so she planned to put together an event to address these issues.
“The formula was to put on an event that people haven’t seen before or experienced before, and [to make] the space inviting but being very clear about what you’re talking about, and the single subject of this conference was to talk about race,” said Cunningham.
The event was a huge success and attributed to Cunningham’s nomination of the award. Along with her work in Tacoma and on the Sister City Council with South Africa, Cunningham had more than enough work in social justice to earn her place as the self-proclaimed “Peace Queen” of Tacoma.
In addition, the committee called Cunningham to announce the award on April 4 which is the anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. This year marked the 50th anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination and held special meaning to Cunningham who said, “I felt tremendously humbled by [the] connection because he died, and I had always admired him. I align myself with his work and his practices. I was so grateful to learn that I was awarded this Peace Prize and to know that he was a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and that I get to carry on the work not just in his name but from other Nobel recipients like Gandhi at the local level.”
With this award and title of Peace Laureate, Cunningham has plans to continue her work in social justice using her new platform to impact children and make a difference at a young age.
“This is the beginning of a new era. I am going to use this platform as Peace Laureate to speak to middle school students about bullying. It is a strong calling on my heart that this is the message I need to bring to children,” said Cunningham. “If we start appreciating each other more and honoring one another for the work that we do, we can make a difference.”
