Each year, the Africana Studies Program hosts the Dr. John T. Washington Community Service Awards and Scholarship Luncheon in order to recognize adults and youths who have made outstanding contributions to our community.
This year’s keynote speaker is Dr. Dr. Myron E. Moorehead II. Dr. Moorehead is a private practice physician specializing in gynecology and laser micro surgery, and the founder and director of the Women’s Laser Institute and the Fibroid Center. He has pioneered laser treatment of fibroids for gynecological and infertility problems, providing women throughout the New Orleans metropolitan area with alternatives to hysterectomy. An active community leader, Dr. Moorehead was elected in 1999 to serve as King Zulu, representing Mardi Gras’ largest predominantly African-American carnival krewe established in 1909. He took an historic step forward to create a new Mardi Gras tradition, becoming the first King Zulu to formally meet with Rex, the King of Carnival representing the predominantly-white krewe founded in 1872. Their meeting took place 50 years after Louis Armstrong reigned as King Zulu in 1949, and 31 years after the Zulu krewe first appeared on the city’s main parade route in 1968. Since Dr. Moorehead launched the tradition, the formal meeting of krewe Kings has endured as an annual rite of “Lundi Gras” (Fat Monday).Dr. Moorehead is dedicated to furthering education, human services, civic development, and the arts. He has served as chairman of the board of Xavier University of Louisiana and of the Greater New Orleans Foundation, and as a board member of Covenant House of New Orleans, the Audubon Institute, Jefferson Performing Arts Society, Contemporary Arts Center, Pennington Biomedical Research Foundation, Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, and the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club. He has helped shape Muskingum’s future through his service on the University Board of Trustees. A biology major at Muskingum, Dr. Moorehead earned his medical degree from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, D.C. and served in the United States Air Force. He is a fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and a leader in multiple professional societies. He and his wife, Patricia, reside in Kenner, Louisiana, and are the parents of three children.
This year’s event will be held on Monday, February 27, 2017 at the UCF Student Union Pegasus Ballroom from noon until 2 PM.
The luncheon honors the legacy of Dr.Washington, an associate professor of Sociology from the mid-70s until his death in 1983. Besides being one of the first African Americans to hold a faculty position at the University of Central Florida, Dr. Washington was a humanitarian and leader who not only taught a life of service, but also lived it.
The annual awards recognize the people who live his goals of community involvement and service, and were established to carry on the humanitarian involvement started by the namesake professor more than three decades ago. The awards are presented by the Africana Studies Program, which has given more than $30,000 in scholarships in Dr. Washington’s name over the years.
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