So it wasn't surprising to see Salaam sitting front and center at Girard College - the project's main site - for last week's kickoff ceremony. If there's anybody who knows a little something about Girard College, it's the man Dr. King fondly called "Freedom."
The real surprise came when Mayor Nutter presented Salaam, 62, the Harris Wofford Active Citizenship Award.
Salaam, visibly moved, joked, "The only other time I've cried was when the police were whipping me."
'Quiet warrior'
"Ken has been behind the scenes so long . . . he's never given up," Bernstein says. "He's been a quiet warrior for social change."
That's the challenge with any movement. Change comes only with continuous struggle. Cecil B. Moore, the Philadelphia lawyer and NAACP president who organized the picket line against Girard, paved the way for students like Salaam. Now Salaam visits schools to pass down his civil rights stories to the students.
Not only that, it was Salaam's efforts that eventually led in part to the hiring of Autumn Graves, Girard's first African American president.
You know the old axiom: No struggle, no progress. And as Dr. King knew all too well, progress depended on building coalitions of like-minded people committed to the struggle.
Which brings us to Bernstein.
Another champion
As Bernstein orchestrated accolades for Salaam last week, he sat on his own secret: He had been summoned to the White House to receive the Champions of Change award for following in the footsteps of Dr. King.
It's a well-deserved honor. Talk about energy. Go anywhere in the city and you're likely to run into the 54-year-old Bernstein. Usually, he's volunteering through Global Citizen, the organization he founded that's dedicated to promoting civic engagement.
