Star Jones, gospel singer Kierra Sheard featured in Realizing the Dream events

Gospel star Kierra Sheard, and lawyer, author and TV personality Star Jones will be in Tuscaloosa this weekend for Realizing the Dream events, honoring the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr.

Because of the rise in omicron variant cases of COVID-19, capacities for indoor events will be at 50 percent.

The theme for 2022 is “Realizing the Dream Through Kindness and Respect for Others." Events for this weekend, and throughout the year, have been planned by a committee featuring representatives from Shelton State Community College, Stillman College, the Tuscaloosa chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the University of Alabama.

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Jones will be speaker at Friday's 13th Legacy Awards Banquet, 6:30 p.m. in the Bryant Conference Center Sellers Auditorium, 240 Paul W. Bryant Drive on the UA campus.

One of the original co-hosts of ABC morning talk show "The View," Jones has written “You Have to Stand for Something, or You’ll Fall for Anything,” “Shine: A Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual Journey to Finding Love” and “Satan’s Sisters.” She was recently named to be the new judge of long-running TV show "Divorce Court," starting in September.

Also that evening, former federal judge U.W. Clemon will receive the Mountaintop Award, Nahree Doh will receive the Call to Conscience Award and Carina Villarreal will receive the Horizon Award.

Alabama attorney Clemon was among the first 10 Black lawyers admitted to the Alabama bar, and in 1974, one of the first two Black men elected to the Alabama Senate since Reconstruction. He served as United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, appointed by Jimmy Carter in 1980 as the first Black federal judge in Alabama.

Doh serves as associate director of clinical and outreach services at UA’s Counseling Center, providing counseling for students experiencing developmental and psychological concerns, and has facilitated a workshop for international students to enhance success and growth in the U.S. academic environment.

Villarreal is a 2020 UA graduate, currently pursuing a master of social work degree. At UA she's served as director of multicultural affairs in the Student Government Association, and president of the Hispanic-Latino Association.

Those wishing to have photos made with Star Jones must wear a mask covering the mouth and nose, and provide proof of complete COVID vaccination (two shots for Moderna or Pfizer; one shot for Johnson & Johnson). Proof can be the vaccination card, or a scan of the card.

Banquet tickets are $30 per person, or $125 for a table of five. Dress is semiformal.

Gospel singer, songwriter, actress and activist Kierra Sheard will be the featured performer for the 2022 Realizing the Dream Concert, 7:30 p.m. Sunday, in UA's Moody Concert Hall, 810 Second Ave.

At age 9, Sheard earned a Stellar Award for Best Children’s Performance for “The Will of God.” After performing with the multi-Grammy Award winning Clark Sisters, she launched a solo career in 2004, gaining acclaim from her debut album, “I Owe You,” followed by the 2006 “This is Me.” Two years later came “Bold Right Life” and then 2011’s “Free.”

Her latest single, “Something Has to Break,” a duet with her mother, gospel icon Karen Clark Sheard, hit No. 1 on two gospel radio charts, topping Billboard’s Gospel Airplay chart and the MediaBase Gospel chart.

Concert tickets are $20. For banquet or concert ticket information, call 205-348-7111 or email community.affairs@ua.edu.

Unity Day activities will begin Monday with a noon march, starting from Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School, 2430 Martin Luther King Blvd. The Mass Rally starts at 6 p.m., at First African Baptist Church. A project of the Tuscaloosa Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Unity Day activities are free and open to the public.

Other Realizing the Dream events will be held throughout the year. For more, see www.realizingthedream.ua.edu.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: TV personality Star Jones to speak at Realizing the Dream banquet