James Lyles, a United Methodist pastor on regional staff and living in Milwaukee, met in 1975 with two Milwaukee north side pastors, Rev. Ernest Glenn, Christ Presbyterian Church, and Rev Joseph Ellwanger, Cross Lutheran Church. After a lengthy discussion about how to create a program that would keep alive the powerful legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King's struggle for justice and for non-violence,
the three pastors agreed on the plan of recruiting funds for post high-school scholarships, that would be awarded especially to students from central city congregations. The Scholarships would bear the name of Dr. Martin Luther King. The rationale behind the MLK Scholarships Milwaukee Program was that students would be asked in their application for the scholarship, to write a short essay on some aspect of the teaching and legacy of Dr. King, connecting it with current state, national and global issues. The annual raising of funds for the scholarships, as well as the annual award ceremonies, would assure young people that the churches will support them in their quest for a college education. The annual quest for funds and awarding of scholarships would discipline congregations to verbally encourage young people to develop their gifts beyond high school. It would add concrete incentives to their words. The first Dr. Martin Luther King Scholarship Celebration was held in 1976, and the first Dr. King Scholarships were awarded in 1977 to Connie Lindsey, who later went on to become a Vice President of a prominent bank in Chicago, and to Danny Murphy, who became a Presbyterian pastor and is currently serving as General Presbyter over 65 congregations in South Carolina. For the first five years the scholarships each amounted to $250, and only one or two were awarded each year. In 1982, the Dr. King ALL-A-Thon was instituted, thanks to the vision of Rev. Glenn, as a way of involving more people in the fundraising and going more public. The number of scholarships, awarded annually, has grown over the years, to as many as 27, and the size of the scholarships is now between $500 and $2,000, depending on the amount of funds raised between the annual celebrations. With over 300 Dr. King scholarship recipients in all parts of the world, working on behalf of King's vision of justice and peace and non-violence, MLK Scholarships Milwaukee is indeed celebrating Dr. King's legacy in a way that is making a real difference.
