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Audrey J. Cooper
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Beverly J. Martin
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Kirby V. Edmonds
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Audrey Jean Wakim Cooper was both Syrian and an enrolled member of the Sand Hill Band of Lenape and Cherokee Nations. She was the Director of the Multicultural Resource Center and the visionary behind Talking Circles on Race and Racism. Audrey founded the First Peoples Festival and the Sister-Friends Celebration, and co-founded Community Leaders of Color (CLOC), Ultimate Re-entry Opportunity (URO), the Hospitality Employment Training Program (HETP), and the West-End Breakfast Club. Audrey also served on the Equity Inclusion Leadership Council and held leadership roles at Family and Children’s Services, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, and Southside Community Center. Throughout her life, she championed justice, Native American rights, and the well-being of young people and families, grounding her work in movement, action, and community care.
Phrase in Arabic to describe Audrey's attitude: الحركة بركة |
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Beverly Jane Martin was an innovative educator, dedicated activist, beloved mentor, and tireless champion for Ithaca’s students and schools. She was the first Black woman in many spaces, including the first Black valedictorian at Ithaca High School, the first Black school principal, and the first Black school administrator in the Ithaca City School District. Beverly served as Director of Affirmative Action and Intercultural Relations for 15 years, where she persistently advocated for school equity and the hiring of a diverse teaching staff through policy, protest, and community organizing. She was a member of numerous local and national organizations, including Club Essence and the Ithaca Council for Equality, and a lifetime member of the NAACP and the National Urban League. Beverly also served on many boards, including the Ithaca Zoning Board, the National Black Educators Association, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, Southside Community Center, and United Way of Tompkins County. In recognition of her lasting impact, Central Elementary School was renamed Beverly J. Martin Elementary School in 1992.
"Beverly Martin had an incredible amount of hope. She believed folks could learn, but it wouldn't happen unless you listened to what they had to say first. If you did, you would learn yourself." |
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Kirby V. Edmonds was an incomparable planner, organizational consultant, mediator, trainer, leadership coach, and human rights and anti-oppression educator whose life was devoted to community transformation. He was Managing Partner of Training for Change Associates and a co-founder and Senior Fellow at the Dorothy Cotton Institute. Kirby co-designed and facilitated the Multicultural Resource Center’s Talking Circles on Race and Racism and served as a committed member of the Equity Inclusion Leadership Council and Community Leaders of Color. He co-founded the Diversity Consortium of Tompkins County, Building Bridges, Cradle to Career, Be the One, and numerous other collective impact initiatives. Through his work, Kirby dedicated himself to resolving intergroup conflict, promoting human rights, and dismantling discrimination and exclusion based on race, culture, class, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity, always guided by a deep belief in the possibility of a more just and connected world.
"It is said that it is human nature for us to hurt and kill each other when things become scarce. It is also the case that much, much, much more frequently, we cooperate. That is a much more common part of the human condition than our tendencies towards violence and aggression. What underlies the notion of Beloved Community is reminding people that those are decisions." |
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Fee Nunn
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Denise C. Lee
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Fe Nunn is a musician, educator, and community builder whose life’s work blends creativity, mentorship, and care for young people. Originally from Buffalo, Fe brought his deep roots in jazz, R&B, and classical music to Ithaca, where he has shaped the city’s cultural life for more than three decades. After a long career as a teacher and administrator in the Ithaca City School District, he founded the Community Unity Music Education Project (CUMEP) in 2002 to provide music education, opportunity, and belonging for youth from underserved backgrounds. As a composer and performer, Fe shares music that is soulful, uplifting, and grounded in connection. As a mentor, he is known for meeting young people where they are, believing in their potential, and reminding them that creativity is both a skill and a source of joy. Through music, Fe Nunn continues to build unity, confidence, and community, one note at a time.
"It's going to take all of us to educate our children. |
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Denise C. Lee was born in New York City, raised in Brooklyn, and arrived in Ithaca as a Cornell University student in 1969, where she made her home. Denise spent more than 45 years serving students in the Ithaca City School District, becoming known for her deep belief in young people and her commitment to those most often underserved. She dedicated years to expanding access to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) education, helping build pathways that nurtured curiosity, confidence, and opportunity for students across the district. Even after retiring as a tenured educator, Denise returned to full-time teaching during COVID at BJM Elementary School. Beyond the classroom, she has long been active with GIAC, Southside Community Center, and Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services. Through decades of steady presence, high expectations, and care, Denise has shaped generations of learners and helped make education a place where more young people can see themselves, belong, and thrive.
"My work has always been rooted in love — for my students, my community, and my family. I believe deeply in the power of education and the importance of lifting each other up. I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me, and I remain committed to reaching back and pulling others forward" |
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J. Diann Sams
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Dr. James E. Turner
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Dr. James Turner was a historian, activist, and visionary educator whose work reshaped Cornell University and helped establish Black Studies nationwide. In 1969, following the Willard Straight Hall occupation, he was selected by Black students to serve as the founding director of Cornell’s Africana Studies and Research Center, where he coined the term “Africana Studies” to describe the comprehensive study of the African diaspora across Africa, North America, and the Caribbean. Under his leadership, the program became a national model and helped open the door for other interdisciplinary fields. Beyond academia, Dr. Turner was deeply engaged in global and local struggles for justice, from anti-apartheid organizing to mentoring students and supporting equity efforts in Ithaca. His legacy lives on through his students, his writings, and the institutions and movements he helped build.
"We come from a tradition that is not second place. We come from a rich tradition of people who advanced the notions of human rights when they had none themselves." |
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J. Diann Sams was a fearless civil rights leader and public servant whose life was guided by justice and love for all people. Born in Harford Mills, New York, Diann made history in Ithaca as the first African American and first person with a physical disability to serve on Common Council, later becoming the first Black woman to serve as the city’s Acting Mayor. Representing Ithaca’s Second Ward for over a decade, she was known for speaking truth, standing firm against injustice, and showing up even when it came at personal cost. While living with rheumatoid arthritis for much of her adult life, Diann remained a tireless advocate for people of color, people with disabilities, and underrepresented communities. She played a key role in strengthening the Greater Ithaca Activities Center, preserving Southside history, and expanding access to community resources. Today, her legacy lives on as a reminder that courage, persistence, and compassion can reshape a city.
“Diann Sams stood up for justice, would not tolerate injustice, and rarely took ‘no’ for an answer. For her, what happened to her didn’t matter — she only wanted what was right to win.” |
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Margalo is a local Ithaca muralist who began painting the BJM Legacy Mural in November 2023 at the age of 18. Born in Beijing, Margalo moved to Ithaca with her family at age 7 and grew up deeply connected to the community she now helps visually shape. Her murals can be found at MIX Restaurant, SouthWorks, Belle Sherman Elementary School, the Sciencenter, and HH Cayuga across from Cinemapolis, as well as in Miami, Florida and State College, Pennsylvania. Margalo approaches public art with a practice rooted in listening, care, and creative inspiration. She is currently studying Art History at Pennsylvania State University, and when she’s not painting murals, she can often be found making origami, skiing, petting cats or snakes (not at the same time), watching Jurassic Park, or eating pizza.
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