Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
The fraternity brothers of the Tau Omega Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity celebrated the fraternity’s annual Achievement Week with an awards ceremony and brunch Sunday afternoon (Nov. 10) at The Global Learning Center on the campus of Bennett College.
The fraternity’s Achievement Week was the inspiration of Dr. Carter G. Woodson and it began in 1920 during the fraternity’s Grand Conclave in Nashville, Tenn. Woodson, a renowned author, editor, publisher, historian and Omega man, is well known for his role in establishing Negro History Week, known today as Black History Month. By 1927, National Negro Achievement Week became an annual observance by the fraternity.
Guest speaker during the Tau Omega awards ceremony was Charles Coleman, MSNBC legal analyst and member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity (initiated in the Epsilon Chapter (N.Y.). Coleman is a graduate of Howard University having earned a bachelor’s degree and a law degree. As a student he worked as a member of The Hilltop newspaper staff. After graduating from law school, Coleman became a prosecutor in Brooklyn, N.Y. handling violent crime and gang cases. Today, in addition to being an analyst on MSNBC, Coleman can also be seen on CNN and his writing in the Huffington Post.
Post- presidential election with a Harris-Walz loss, Coleman said to the ceremony attendees, “As we reflect on this moment in our individual spaces and in our own communities, many people will ask, ‘what happened?’” He added, “We don’t want to spend too much time on this because we have many other things to tend to.” He said one could look at the people pulling the levers of power who made bad decisions or even messaging mishaps.
On Tuesday, November 5, “America did what America does. America happened,” said Coleman. “There is a great deal of blame to go around. But not in this space. Not in this community.” He added, “This election will require us to mend some fences. Refusing to do so comes at a cost to all of us.”
He pointed out that some people in our own communities did not support the vice president’s candidacy for president. “I know you are here. We know you are here,” he said. “If ever there was a time to reimagine, renegotiate and revisit our ties and coalitions, it is now.”
In bracing for whatever is coming, Coleman explained that it is important to do three things before year’s end: 1. Have a collective safety plan of action; 2. Prioritize health appointments and check-ups; and 3. Identify and cement relationships and engage local support.
“The time to understand that we cannot sit on our hands is now,” said Coleman.
The Tau Omega Chapter presented a new Achievement Week award, the John Marshall Kilimanjaro Trailblazer Award, named in memory of the late Dr. John Marshall Kilimanjaro, who was a professor of English, Speech and Theatre Arts at North Carolina A&T State University and founding publisher of the Carolina Peacemaker newspaper.
The award is dedicated to honoring individuals or organizations that have artfully forged remarkable achievements from the most modest of beginnings. The first recipient of this prestigious award on Sunday was the Carolina Peacemaker, Greensboro’s oldest Black newspaper, founded by Kilimanjaro and his wife, Vickie, the paper’s associate publisher. Vickie and her daughter Afrique (the paper’s editor & publisher) graciously accepted the award.
Kilimanjaro began his college education at Tougaloo College, where he became a charter member of the Rho Epsilon Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Arkansas A.M.&N. College in 1952, before becoming one of only a few African American graduate students at the University of Arkansas, where he completed his master’s and doctoral degrees in speech, theater arts, and English literature. He gained recognition as a talented pianist during his college years, often performing for sororities.
His commitment to serving his country led him to join the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy during the Korean War, where he held the role of naval hospital corpsman. Upon his honorable discharge, he began teaching at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical (A&T) College in Greensboro in 1955.
Kilimanjaro was deeply concerned with social justice issues facing African Americans. In 1958, he was appointed secretary of the Greensboro NAACP. His efforts helped facilitate a visit from Martin Luther King Jr., who delivered a pivotal speech at Bennett College, inspiring Kilimanjaro to take an active role in civil rights.
In 1967, Kilimanjaro and his wife founded the Carolina Peacemaker, a weekly newspaper focused on the African American community in Greensboro and Guilford County. The publication emerged as a direct response to civil rights challenges, and Kilimanjaro committed himself to using journalism as a tool for change.
A defining moment in his activism occurred on June 6, 1962, when he was arrested during a peaceful protest with A&T students against racial injustices in downtown Greensboro. Kilimanjaro continued to be an active participant in significant civil rights events, including the 1963 March on Washington where he and his wife, Vickie, listened to King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.
Kilimanjaro’s contributions to education and the arts were extensive. In 1965, he was elected president of the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts, and in 1969, he established the Speech and Theatre Arts Department at A&T. A year later, he founded the Paul Robeson Theatre, where he served as executive director and produced more than 80 major plays during his 22-year career at the university. In recognition of his invaluable contributions, the lobby of the Paul Robeson Theatre was named in his honor in 2015.
In addition to his teaching and theater work, Kilimanjaro was influential in establishing the A&T chapter of the American Association of University Professors. He wrote a weekly column titled “The Other Side of the Tracks” and contributed to various media platforms.
The Carolina Peacemaker, under Kilimanjaro’s leadership, received numerous accolades, including multiple awards from the North Carolina Press Association and the National Newspaper Publishers Association. In 2006, he received the Samuel E. Cornish Publisher of the Year Award from the National Newspaper Publishers Association.
Throughout his life, Kilimanjaro was recognized with various honors, including the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2002 and the Man of the Year award from the Tau Omega Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. He also received the fraternity’s Founder’s Day Award in 2005. Kilimanjaro was a proud member of the fraternity for 72 years.
The Kilimanjaro Trailblazer Award not only celebrates Kilimanjaro’s life achievements but also serves as a legacy of his commitment to community service, civil rights, and the power of journalism. Fraternity member Bernard Bell said, “Through this award, the Tau Omega Chapter honors those who, like Kilimanjaro, forge pathways of change and positively impact their communities.”
John Marshall Kilimanjaro Trailblazer Award – Carolina Peacemaker
Manhood Award - Terrence Holley
Young Leader Award – Demetrius Jones
Uplift Award – C. Bradley Hunt
Mountain Mover Award - Wilson Lester
Superior Service Award - Jonathan Brooks
Omega Man of the Year – William Armstrong
Bridge Builder Award – Mario Lewis
Founders Lifetime Achievement Award – Phillip McCall
Perseverance Award - William Brown
Scholarship Award – Melvin Sauls
Citizen of the Year – Tanya Rivera with WFMY-TV News 2.
