ADL In Concert Against Hate Honorees

ADL In Concert Against Hate honorees included Lukas Losen (front row, from left); Mindy Corporon; David Friedman, ADL Washington, D.C., Regional Director; Melinda Corporon, Alissa LaManno, and Jim LaManno. Second Row: Patricia Mills; Billy Mills; Barbara Fox; Jean Baptiste Rudatsikira; Jacqueline Murekatete; Leonard Losen; Gian LaManno and Brian Fowler.

The Anti-Defamation League honored Mindy Corporon, mother and daughter respectively of Reat Underwood and Dr. William Corporon, and Dr. Jim LaManno, husband of Terri LaManno, as 2014 ADL In Concert Against Hate honorees Monday night in Washington, D.C.

Corporon was thrust into the national limelight when Reat and his grandfather were gunned down April 13 upon their arrival at the Jewish Community Campus where the young man was to audition for KC SuperStar, a high school singing competition sponsored by the Jewish Community Center. LaManno was also killed that day, outside of nearby Village Shalom.

Through this special concert, the ADL recognizes individuals for extraordinary acts of courage in confronting intolerance and injustice, extremism and terrorism. Corporon and LaManno were presented with the Kay Family Award recognizing individuals for “extraordinary acts of courage in confronting intolerance and injustice, extremism and terrorism”.

“We are all being honored because we won’t let hate overcome,” Corporon said. “We all want to help others find good, peace with one another. But most of all we all have faith in God and humanity,” she said. “Tragedies happen and will continue because of man. Faith will and can sustain us.”

Established more than 100 years ago, the Anti-Defamation League was founded “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.” Today the ADL is the nation’s premier civil rights/human relations agency, fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects civil rights for all.

This marks the 20th anniversary of the ADL In Concert Against Hate, an inspirational event honoring heroes in the fight against intolerance, extremism and terrorism. The concert tells the stories of ordinary people who have performed extraordinary acts of courage and compassion when confronted by hatred and bigotry.

In the wake of the April 13 tragedy, Corporon established the Reat Griffin Underwood Memorial Foundation to engage others in a dialogue that will encourage faith and understanding among all people and celebrate the good in our community, the nation and the world. For more information, visit www.faithalwayswins.org.

The LaManno family has established a scholarship fund through the Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired in memory of Terri, who worked at the non-profit as an occupational therapist. For more information on the scholarship fund, click here.

In addition to Corporon and Lamanno, the other honorees for the 2014 ADL Concert are: William Mervin (“Billy”) Mills, an Olympic gold medal winner and former officer in the United States Marine Corps who has devoted his life to giving back to Native American people. Mills, who was an All-American in cross-country at the University of Kansas, won a gold medal in the 1964 Summer Olympics while serving as a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Having grown up in poverty, and experienced racism throughout his athletic career, Mills has dedicated his life to improving the lives of American Indian children.

Jacqueline Murekatete is a survivor of the Rwandan Genocide and a human rights activist. In 1994, at the age of 9, Jacqueline’s parents and siblings were murdered, along with hundreds of thousands of other Tutsis, by members of the Hutu majority. Adopted by an uncle in the United States, Jacqueline first told her story after hearing a Holocaust survivor, David Gewitzman, speak at her school. Jacqueline was honored at the 2004 ADL Concert on the 10th anniversary of the Rwandan Genocide. In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary ADL Concert, she is being honored again.

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