MLK Community Coalition of Lebanon, Ohio

Youth Leader of Tomorrow – Christiana Hardie

Christiana is a 17-year-old senior at Lebanon High school. During this past election cycle, Christiana was a member of the League 46 Incubator Program, a branch of Joe Biden's campaign which helped to engage young voters across the country. Christiana also interned with Morgan Showen for Ohio, a statehouse congressional campaign, and volunteered weekly at the Warren County Democratic Party headquarters. Currently, Christiana has been working to update our current district mascot, the Warrior, to be more sensitive to indigenous cultures and peoples. She also serves as the Vice President of the Ecology Club at the high school, a group dedicated to making our school and community more sustainable with such initiatives as procuring recycling bins in downtown Lebanon and creating an ongoing bottlecap drive. In her free time, Christiana also serves as the concertmaster for the Lebanon Symphony Youth Orchestra, works at her part-time job, and is a member of the Lebanon Singers Showchoir.

Youth Leader of Tomorrow - Sahiba Salmon-Rekhi

Sahiba is a junior at Springboro Schools. She was sent a racist picture Christmas Day 2019 (her sophomore year). This picture shook her to the core and pushed her into action. She had enough of hearing the ‘n’ word, seeing the overtly racist acts and microaggressions that were in her daily environment. She went to her principal, informed him of the picture, told him there was a problem in his school and he needed to do something about it. She asked to be part of the solution. Sahiba started developing a presentation to discuss bias and racism, especially how it manifests in the school setting. She worked with a classmate to refine the presentation and presented to all 600 teachers in Springboro Schools. They have also presented to the Warren County Career Center Teacher Academy. Sahiba has worked on this project even though she was ostracized and bullied by her former friends, dealt with isolation due to COVID-19 and other health issues. Her project has kept her going. She wants to educate teachers on how racism and biases impacts a person and negatively effects learning.

Adult Community Leader - Renee Forrester

When you first meet Renee you will be impressed with her kindness, her altruistic spirit, and her commitment to the community of Lebanon. In 2017, she learned that some students in the Lebanon City Schools were not able to purchase a school lunch because they had not paid off their school debt. She immediately decided to do something about this. She initiated the "Lunch on Us" program, raising enough money by sharing her concern, making others aware, working closely with the school board and superintendent, fund raising, and applying for and receiving local grants to wipe out all student debt by January, 2020. The program was put on hold in March because of the Covid pandemic and subsequent quarantining. The “Lunch on Us” initiative which Renee led and championed is just one example of her dedication and caring deeply for others. In addition, she has given her time and talent over the years by donating handmade baby blankets and by adopting at-risk high school students during Christmas, providing hand-made gifts and love to them. She made and donated over 400 masks to friends, family, businesses, and strangers to help keep them safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. Renee’s motto is …”if you have something you love to do with your hands and mind you will always have something productive to do. You can help others and that to me is success.” Renee retired in September, 2019 after 30 years of service at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. She is an active member of the MLK Coalition of Lebanon, of Bethel AME Church, and is an advocate to the City of Lebanon to support the black community, speaking out for equality and fairness for all citizens.

Adult Community Leader – Elizabeth Kimberlin (posthumously)

The late Elizabeth Louise Kimberlin was the ultimate servant for the Lebanon community. One of her first achievements was organizing and leading the first Black Girl Scout Troop in Warren County. Black girls were not welcomed to join the Girl Scouts at that time. She later helped organize Lebanon Community Services and was one of the founders of the Lebanon Food Pantry and was it’s first coordinator. She was the Secretary for the National Cancer Association, President of the Black Ladies Elks, and very active at Zion Baptist Church in Lebanon and Bethel Baptist Church in Dayton Ohio. Her moto was “God has no other hand, no other feet then ours”. She served so many in Lebanon through all the racial challenges she faced. She had to work outside the city because work for Black women was housekeeping or taking on ironing for white families. She retired from Wright Patterson Air Force Base as a Procurement Analyst traveling all over the country purchasing airplane parts.

Organization – Lebanon Food Pantry

The Lebanon Food Pantry was established over 40 years ago and operates today as a partnership of 15 local churches and works alongside the free clothing ministry to be a resource to community members in need. During the pandemic, the Pantry has expanded services to enable families to access food multiple times each month when the need arises. The Pantry’s goal is to ensure that families can cope without worrying about food on their tables. Incorporated as a charitable organization in 1985, the Pantry serves on average 2,000 client families each year. The clients represent approximately 3,000 adults and 3,000 children who require nutritional support, personal care items, and household goods. Last year, hundreds of volunteers donated thousands of hours to serve at the pantry by transporting and unloading food, sorting donations, stocking shelves, and packing grocery bags. The Pantry gets 60% of its financial support from private donations and distributes food donated by Walmart and Kroger. The Pantry works in partnership with Shared Harvest Foodbank to rescue food. Together they bring monthly “pop-up” pantries to Warren County to serve residents who earn less than 230% of the federal poverty level.