DTE Chairman and CEO Jerry Norcia and WCCCD Chancellor Dr. Curtis Ivery Honored At Historic Dinner for Championing Equality
Reverend Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr., an elder statesman of the Civil Rights Movement, and one of the last remaining and most trusted lieutenants of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who spent hours with the slain civil rights leader in Memphis before his assassination, was honored on Tuesday, July 22, at a gallant celebration for his salient contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. The celebration at the Detroit Athletic Club hosted by The PuLSE Institute, Detroit’s national anti-poverty think tank, marked The Institute’s inaugural Civil Rights Leadership Dinner.
LaFayette serves as a member of the National Advisory Board of The Institute, and was one of the first leaders to answer the call of The Institute during its founding several years ago.
The event dubbed, “Celebrating Reverend Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr.: An Unsung American Hero and the Promise of the Civil Rights Movement,” honored his indelible work including the roles he played serving under King as National Coordinator of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, the watershed moment of the Civil Rights Movement as well as the National Program Administrator of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), the signature civil rights group Dr. King founded and led as president. The SCLC’s historic work brought prominence to the civil rights struggle and laid the foundation for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. LaFayette a strategist for King and one of his inner circle members brought several people on board to work for King including civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.
When former President Barack Obama delivered the eulogy at the funeral of civil rights hero and former Georgia Congressman John Lewis, LaFayette, was among a select group of civil rights leaders that Obama mentioned as pivotal in shaping modern American history and the struggle for justice and equality. LaFayette and Lewis were roommates at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville.
LaFayette received The PuLSE Institute’s Global Civil Rights Leadership Award from the eminent journalist and standard-bearer for economic justice issues Bankole Thompson, who is the founder and dean of The Institute. LaFayette has been a longtime friend and mentor of Thompson over the years. The veteran civil rights leader has always expressed admiration for Thompson’s journalistic thought leadership on economic justice issues and serving as a preeminent voice of conscience and courage. In fact, in 2023, after the two spent time together for days in Selma, the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement, he invited Thompson to sit on the National Board of SCLC, which he currently chairs. In naming Thompson to the SCLC Board, he became the first journalist in American history to sit at the highest decision-making body of the organization King personally infused his legacy into.
In his remarks after receiving his award, LaFayette, reflected on his life and work with King. He spoke extensively about the hardship and the dangers that he and his colleagues in the Civil Rights Movement faced yet they were determined to achieve the goals set forth by King.
The highlight of the dinner was a surprise birthday celebration for LaFayette who turns 85 on July 29. As a special birthday cake presented to him at the Pontchartrain Room inside the DAC where the dinner was held, the room erupted with the singing of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” song tribute for King. LaFayette interrupted the signing and shared intimate stories of King’s own birthday celebrations during the Civil Rights Movement.
Jerry Norcia, the Chairman and CEO of DTE Energy, who served as the 2025 Dinner Chair and seated next to LaFayette and his wife Dr. Kate B. LaFayette at the dinner, was presented with The Institute’s Corporate Leader of Conscience Award for his longstanding work on issues of equity, inclusion and affordability. Norcia, who has been vocal about tackling poverty and inequality was also named to The Institute’s prestigious and revered National Advisory Board, made up of global luminaries and champions in the fight against economic injustice such as LaFayette, Sister Simone Campbell, a 2022 Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient, and a close ally of the late Pope Francis among others.
Norcia was also recognized for serving as a crucial mentor and staunch supporter of Joi Harris, who was recently named the President and CEO of DTE Energy, making her the first woman and African American to helm the utility giant starting in September, when Norcia transitions to Executive Chairman of the company. Harris, the current President and COO of DTE Energy was among the leaders in attendance at the dinner.
“Reverend Dr. Bernard LaFayette Jr.’s visit to Detroit is an opportunity to not only celebrate his legacy, but to learn firsthand about his experience as a pivotal leader during the civil rights era,” Norcia said. “From his time as a Freedom Rider to his books that made him a globally recognized authority on nonviolent social change, his life’s work serves as an inspiring reminder to all of us that we can make a positive difference in our society.”
Dr. Curtis Ivery, the Chancellor of Wayne County Community College District received The Institute’s Excellence In Educational Leadership Award for his work in being a major stabilizing force in urban education in Detroit and around the nation and for serving as a powerful agent of social transformation and equity. Ivery was praised at the dinner as a founding father of modern Detroit because of how he transformed WCCCD into one of the most important and impactful institutions in Detroit and the region.
Dr. C. Paschal Eze, the Chairman of the Board of The PuLSE Institute served as the master of ceremonies for the dinner emphasizing the significance of the historic gathering while Attorney Tina M. Patterson, Esq, the President and Director of Research at The Institute, gave the welcome remarks casting the event as a celebration of living history and what LaFayette means to our nation’s ongoing quest for justice and freedom.
Thompson, The Institute’s founder, called LaFayette one of the liberators of the 20th century, and told the audience that his mark on history must not be forgotten and that he remained deeply inspired by his profound impact and the close friendship the two maintained for over 20 years.
The Institute’s invitation-only dinner was attended by a diverse cross-section of prominent business, education and nonprofit leaders across the region.
Chris Collins, the President and Artistic Director of the Detroit International Jazz Festival Foundation, Yasmeen Jasey, the Michigan Regional President of Citizens Bank, Ken Gutman, the Superintendent of Oakland Schools, the public school system in Oakland County, John Bodary, the President of Woods Construction, one of the largest construction companies in Michigan, Rev. Velma Jean Overman, First Vice President of the Western Wayne County NAACP Chapter and veteran Detroit businessman Louis James, the Chairman and CEO of SEEL Energy were among dozens of leaders who attended the dinner and personally thanked LaFayette for his remarkable contributions to advancing equality in the nation.
Rev. Solomon W. Kinloch Jr., the senior pastor of Triumph Church in Detroit, one of the largest Black churches in the nation with 40,000 members attended the dinner and delivered the invocation.
The PuLSE Institute will announce in the coming weeks its 2026 Civil Rights Leadership Dinner Chairman.
