18-02-2025
Champaign City Manager Joan Walls inspires at 59th Lincoln-Douglass-King Banquet
'Our ancestors are watching us, and they're cheering us on,' Joan Walls said addressing dinner guests Saturday at the 59th annual Lincoln-Douglass-King Banquet. 'But they never gave up. They never got tired. And we can't either.'
Each year, Danville's Allen Chapel A.M.E. Church hosts the banquet to commemorate the legacies of Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, and Martin Luther King, Jr. in their efforts to help extend and defend civil rights for Black Americans.
The banquet also serves as an opportunity to honor and recognize Black residents who have contributed positively to the community.
This year, Terry Gouard II and Tami Brazill received awards — Gouard for establishing the first barbering program at Danville Area Community College (DACC), and Brazill for her ministry Women Helping Women.
'I live by the motto 'A plus or nothing.' It's my mission statement,' Gouard said, thanking family and friends for their support and speaking about the hurdles he's overcome.
'I've always been a humble person, but recently ... there's this song that's been going in my head. It basically goes, 'I deserve it all.' And I deserve it all. I worked for it, and I'm here today,' Gouard said to a round of applause.
When Brazill received her Community Service Award, she thanked God and her community.
'There's so many women out here that come along ... and they don't know which direction or how to go and figure out how to find the housing, food, whatever it is they need. This is just an open door to help them,' Brazill said about her ministry, which pairs with The Dwelling Place to help women find the resources they need.
When it came time for featured speaker Joan Walls to address the audience, she encouraged them to keep working toward their goals.
'Now is not the time to give up, when some folks are trying to erase Black history or make us believe that the words diversity, equity, and inclusion don't belong in our vocational areas, or let alone have a place,' Walls said.
Walls, a Danville native, became the first Black woman to be appointed to serve as the City of Champaign's City Manager in December 2024. She spoke about her own journey through hardships.
'My first step began in September of 1999, when I was at the Danville post office mailing two envelopes, one for a job at the University of Illinois' school of social work and one for the crime prevention manager, public information officer at the Champaign Police Department,' Walls said.
At her interview for the crime prevention manager position, Walls said she wasn't sure she would get the job, but chose to speak with confidence anyway, thanks to her faith.
'I looked them in their eyes and I laid out my crime prevention management philosophy and implementation for the City of Champaign, and I did it neighborhood by neighborhood,' Walls said.
In that position, Walls said, she 'made an impact not only within the department but also in the community breaking down barriers of mistrust while staying true to my authentic self.'
Walls was later appointed as the deputy city manager for community relations and later, the deputy city manager, Chief Operating Officer for Champaign — a role Walls said she worked hard to excel in by joining the Illinois City County Managers Association.
Despite feeling out of place and unwelcome at meetings of the ICCMA, Walls persevered.
'If I could be really honest? I wanted to quit ... I didn't have the energy to be a member of an organization where I wasn't even seen,' Walls said. 'I decided to get involved like I was supposed to be there and there was no stopping me.'
In closing, Walls challenged the audience.
'You are needed now, more than ever before,' she said, listing several issues impacting local communities, including poverty, housing affordability, food insecurity, environmental concerns, infrastructure issues and disparities and more.
'You must get involved. You must use your voice, your talents, and your skills to make a difference,' she said. 'Let each one of us be a drum major for justice, a drum major for love. And when we do this, when we let our light shine brightly, we will not only transform our own lives but we will illuminate the path towards a more just and loving world for all. Don't stop now. You keep the faith.'
During the event, Banquet Chair Aleta Randle honored the legacy of previous chair and local activist Eva Suzanne Barnett-Adkins, who passed away in 2022.
'Susie was a bright light that illuminated the room. She had a heart as big as Texas, a million-dollar smile, and infectious laugh,' Randle said of Barnett-Adkins. 'If there was a problem or a crisis, Suzanne would always respond with 'Don't worry, just pray.' She was the glue that held us all together.'
Vice Mayor Tricia Teague also addressed the audience, encouraging them to get involved and attend city council meetings.
'Come publicly voice your opinions on decisions that have been made, and especially decisions that are about to be voted for, and to hold all of us and your elected representatives accountable,' Teague said. 'I can't speak for everybody else, but I appreciate accountability.'
Teague also spoke about the honor of being 'a Black woman, born and raised in this city, invited to speak at this event that honors Lincoln, Douglass, and King — three men who, knowing full well the threats they would face, still chose to stand boldly in their conditions and put their lives on the line for freedom, justice, and equality.'
Later, Teague quoted Frederick Douglass from a portion of his July 5, 1852 speech, 'What to a slave is the fourth of July?' in Rochester, New York.
'At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could I reach the nation's ear, I would, today, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke,' Teague said, quoting Douglass. 'For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake.
'The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.'
