Cornerstone Schools honored Civil Rights Icon Andrew J. Young by dedicating its new “Center for the Complete Life” in his name at a ceremony on Friday, October 29. Students, alumni, teachers, partners and community leaders gathered to celebrate at the Lincoln-King Adams-Young Academy, also named in honor of Ambassador Young. The event was livestreamed to each Cornerstone classroom in addition to members of our partner community who were unavailable to attend in person.
All Cornerstone Schools are all named after a Founder and Civil Rights leader. Cornerstone was thrilled to honor Ambassador Andrew Young, as the only living namesake from any of our schools. His life is a true inspiration to our entire Cornerstone community and his presence at Cornerstone during the event provided a reminder to our students, teachers and partners that we all are capable of living the Complete Life.
During the program, our guests enjoyed incredible performances from Bishop-Elect Marvin Winans, soloist Danielle Gray and the Voices of Freedom Choir & Music under the direction of Cornerstone’s Eric Gardner.
Cornerstone was also joined by Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian, who flew in to announce a multi-million-dollar contribution to support Cornerstone’s mission.
Our new Andrew J. Young Cornerstone Center for the Complete Life will help inspire students to live their best lives. As our students and faculty know, the Complete Life is a concept proposed by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., another Cornerstone namesake, and suggests a Complete Life is one where the three dimensions of life are lived in equal measure. He defined the dimensions as the Length of Life (to live for a purpose born); the Breadth of Life (to be a person for others); and the Height of Life (to know one’s Creator).
It is our mission to prepare each and every one of our students to live the Complete Life during and after their time here at Cornerstone. This event marked a great step forward towards that mission.
Thank you to our entire Cornerstone Community – teachers, students, parents, friends and partners for attending or watching the event and for helping make it all happen. None of this would have been possible without Ambassador Young and Ed Bastian. We could not be more grateful for their support in helping our students embrace the Complete Life.
If you missed the event, or just want to relive the historic moment, you can watch the full program here. Also check out some of the amazing media coverage on the event from Crain’s Detroit and FOX2 Detroit.