Paducah Tilghman High School senior Nadiya Williams and junior Coy Booker have been awarded the Adult Leadership Award and Youth Leadership Award, respectively, from Kentucky’s Martin Luther King, Jr., State Commission. Each year, the Commission bestows one Adult Leadership Award and one Youth Leadership Award on individuals in Kentucky whose actions demonstrate distinguished service in promoting Dr. Martin Luther King’s ideals to further the goals of diversity and justice for all. Nominees must demonstrate leadership and achievement to the principles of racial equality, interracial harmony, economic justice, participation in MLK holiday observances, and dedication to Dr. King’s dream in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Williams and Booker were nominated by Paducah Tilghman High School.
The Martin Luther King Jr. State Commission is an affiliate of the Kentucky Heritage Council and is composed of members appointed by the Governor from diverse backgrounds in Kentucky life, including individuals associated with labor, industry, commerce, government, civil rights, education, youth organizations, sports, fine arts, and entertainment. It is the Commission’s intention to promote unity, equality and justice for all people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, the United States and the world.
Williams is a four-year member of Paducah Tilghman’s Color Guard and Concert Choir, and a member of Beta Club, Black Coal and Roses Society, and the African American Leadership Club. She is also a Paducah Bank Teen Ambassador and volunteers her time for Tilghman’s Interact Club and as a mentor for the Oscar Cross Boys & Girls Club of Paducah. She attends Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church.
Williams is the daughter of Deborah Williams and Tim Snipes.
Booker, recently named a Paxton Scholar, serves on the Paducah Tilghman Student Equity Advisory Council, and is a Student Representative on Tilghman’s Tornado Alley Youth Services Center Advisory Board. He is a member of Tilghman’s African American Leadership Club, B2G (Boys to Gentlemen), and is a Tilghman Student Ambassador.
Booker is the son of LaDonna Atkins.
“Nadiya’s and Coy’s leadership and involvement, often behind the scenes, has been a wonderful catalyst for advancing unity and interracial harmony at Tilghman and in the community,” said Paducah Tilghman High School Principal Allison Stieg. “We are thrilled to see them recognized at the state level for their outstanding service in promoting Dr. King’s ideals.