Collins Kilgore, Kareem Moody and Kathy Ransom were honored for their work promoting social justice in their state and their communities on March 26 at the Central Arkansas Library System Main Library. The evening, called A Gathering of Friends, was hosted by Just Communities of Arkansas, which honored the three Arkansans with the Father Joseph H. Biltz Award.
It was Kilgore, now a retired Pulaski County circuit judge, whose ruling in the 2001 Lakeview School Funding Case reformed the education system, said JCA Executive Director Ruth Shepherd, who introduced the honorees. Kilgore found that the school funding system in Arkansas was unfair and violated standards set by the state constitution.
Moody has spent his career working with and mentoring at-risk youths as a case worker, then director at P.A.R.K. (Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids) and now as director of Network for Student Success, a program designed to improve the academic success of young black men at Pulaski Technical College.
Kathy Ransom is a board member and on the leadership team of Shepherd's Hope, a medical clinic designed to provide free health care for the uninsured. As a member of the leadership team, Ransom helps staff the clinic, recruit volunteers and doctors and coordinate partnerships with other health providers. Shepherd noted that the clinic serves about 1,500 people on a $100,000 budget.
Before his death in 1987, Father Biltz worked for the Arkansas Catholic Diocese as director of its refugee resettlement program, was a board chairman of the Urban League and board member of the Arkansas Peace Center. Just Communities of Arkansas offers programs to promote justice, create inclusion and combat bullying such as Our Town, Unitown, In Our Own Voices and Straight Talk.
High Profile on 04/05/2015