Mayor Taveras Inducts Three Community Advocates Into 11th Annual MLK Hall of Fame

PROVIDENCE, RI – Mayor Angel Taveras joined with City Council President Michael
Solomon and community and faith leaders on Wednesday evening to officially induct
three exceptional Providence community advocates into the 11th Annual Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Hall of Fame.

Each year, inductees are honored for carrying on the legacy of the late Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. by making substantial contributions to acceptance, social
justice, civil rights and equality in Providence. Mayor Taveras selected this year’s
honorees from a list of nominations submitted by the Providence Human Relations
Commission.

«It is a great honor to announce this year’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Hall of Fame inductees – Bill Bateman, Joseph P. Buchanan and the late David Hector,
Sr.,» said Mayor Taveras. «These three individuals have been exemplary advocates for
the people and neighborhoods of Providence. Each in their own way, these inductees
assure us that Dr. King’s pursuit of equality and justice is alive and well in our
community.»

Bill Bateman has been a member of Laborers Union Local 271 for 30 years and has
spent much of his life advocating on behalf of his community.  In August, Bateman
organized the ‘Defenders of The Dream’ march and rally in Providence. The event
brought together civil rights activists, anti-poverty workers, labor, religious and
governmental leaders, and individuals from all walks of life 50 years after Dr.
King’s historic March on Washington.

A lifelong resident of Providence, Joseph P. Buchanan grew up in the Roger Williams
Housing Project and from an early age aspired to make a difference in the lives of
those who struggle with poverty. He has worked professionally, volunteered for, and
served on the boards of numerous community organizations including People Acting
Through Community Efforts, the Roger Williams Tenant Association, Roger Williams Day
Care Center, the Black Political Action Committee, and Direct Action for Rights and
Equality.

David Hector, Sr., was honored posthumously for his work as the founder of the
faith-based organization Salvation 220 Ministry, which he ran out of his home for
more than 40 years. David Hector, Sr. was deeply involved in the Mount Hope
community and was known throughout the city for his kindness and his concern for the
disadvantaged. He taught Bible studies and ran Community Music Forums that brought
people together to express faith through music.

The program included a spoken word performance by Rhode Island College student
Justin Davis, who is the cofounder and president of SPOKEN, a RIC student club for
spoken-word poets and other artists. Musical performers included John Britto,
Eastern Medicine Singers and the RPM Voices of Rhode Island. Reverend James Ford of
the First Unitarian Church of Providence delivered a message of peace and hope.

The names of the inductees will be permanently inscribed in a plaque in Providence
City Hall.