Feb. 27, 2023
Local Hero: Christian Paige
Christian Paige is a local educator, a national speaker and an Emmy-nominated spoken word poet.
Christian’s work has allowed him to engage with a variety of organizations promoting social and educational equity to eliminate educational barriers for students. Christian inspires learners to fearlessly pursue their passions and reach their fullest potential.
The city of Lakewood was honored to have Christian join its last in-person Martin Luther King Jr. event, where he shared his poetry with the crowd.
Local Hero: Kwabi Amoah-Forson
Kwabi Amoah-Forson is a local humanitarian, advocate for social justice and world peace and proud owner of The Peace Bus.
In July 2022, Kwabi was awarded the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize for his relentless commitment to promoting peace and meeting the needs of those in his community and beyond. Kwabi was invited to attend the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Oslo, Norway, this past December where he met with leaders and peace advocates from around the world.
Upon his return home, Kwabi was awarded the Keep Living the Dream Award by the University of Puget Sound, an award given to an individual who exemplifies the work and vision of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Kwabi is currently working on his next humanitarian campaign called E-Quipped to Learn, which will supply new laptops to Tacoma and Seattle high school students in need who plan to attend a college or trade school in the fall.
Hidden Heroes serves to educate our community about the accomplishments and contributions of local, national and international African American and Black leaders. The city of Lakewood’s MLK Committee launched Hidden Heroes in 2019 in cooperation with the Clover Park School District. New leaders are celebrated each week now through February, Black History Month.