2005 Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebrations
Keynote Speaker Samuel Gresham, Jr.
President & Chief Executive Officer
Columbus Urban League, Inc.
Building A Global Community: Following Dr. King's Ideas of World Peace and Civil Rights Worldwide
Samuel Gresham, Jr., a native of Greenwood, Mississippi, migrated to Chicago, Illinois where he was educated during his formative years. He attended the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and received a Bachelor in Urban and Regional Planning in 1974. Additionally, he attended the Johnson Graduate School of Management of Cornell University and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, for advanced training.
Mr. Gresham came to the League in June of 1985 from Housing Urban Development (HUD), where he served as Chief of Single Family Loan Management. While at HUD, he received the agencies second highest award, the "Certificate of Merit" in 1984, and four special achievement awards.
Mr. Gresham's extensive background involves skills in television. He had the honor of producing the first Black Talk Show in the history of television, as well as the first Black Soap Opera in television history. Additionally, he played minor league baseball for the Chicago White Sox.
During 1994, as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Columbus Urban League, Inc., he completed the construction of a new headquarters building at a cost of $2.3 million dollars; it is equipped with the latest state of the art computer system. In 1995, the League obtained a $1.1 million dollar grant from HUD for drug prevention in public housing. In 1999, the Columbus Urban League, Inc., was selected in a national competition for a $3.1 million dollar grant from the Department of Labor hard to serve welfare to work program.
| Chairman of the Board, City of Columbus Board of Housing Appeals | 1982 - 1984 |
| Founding Member, Ohio Commission on African-American Males | 1987 |
| Member of the Board of Directors, Columbus State Community College | 1988 - 1984 |
| Chairman of the Board, Franklin County Housing Council of Central Ohio | 1986 - 1989 |
| Member of the Board of Directors, Girl Scouts of Central Ohio | 1986 - 1988 |
| Member of the Board of Directors, Jobs for Ohio Grads | 1989 - 1991 |
| Founding Member of the Columbus Relations Commission, City of Columbus | 1997 |
| Chairman of the Board of Directors, District One, State of Ohio School to Work System | 1996 - 1998 |
| Co-Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ohio's BEST | 1996 - 2000 |
| Chairman of the Board of Directors, Franklin County Commission Housing Advisory Commission | 1999 - 2002 |
| Member of the Board of Directors & Co-Vice-Chair of Strategic Planning Committee, Franklin County and Columbus Housing Trust | 2000 |
| Chairman for the Accountability Committee for Special Projects, Columbus Public Schools | 2003 |
| Special Achievement, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Columbus, OH | 1980 |
| Special Achievement, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Columbus OH | 1982 |
| Certificate Merit (HUD Second Highest Award), Dept. of Housing & Urban Development, Washington, DC | 1984 |
| The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award, Columbus State Community College | 1989 |
| Golden Ruler Award, Columbus Public Schools | 1992 |
| Golden Ruler Award, Columbus Public Schools | 1993 |
| Special Alumni Recognition, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois | 1993 |
| Jack Resler Award, Anti-Defamation League of B'nai-Brith-Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana - Regional Advisory Board | 1994 |
| Presidents Award, Blue-Chip Foundation | 1995 |
| Barbie Duran Leadership Award, NAACP Columbus Chapter | 1996 |
| Community Service Award, Nation of Islam | 1998 |
| Liberty Bell Award, Columbus Bar Association | 1999 |
| Census Hero Award from the U.S. Census Monitoring Board, House of Representatives | 1999 |
| The Presidents Award, NAACP Columbus Branch | 2000 |
| Who's Who in Black Columbus 2002 - 2003 Edition Commemorative Cover Appreciation | |
| Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award, Columbus Education Association | 2002 |
| Ohio Council of Urban Leagues, Columbus President |
1986 - 1989 |
| National Urban League Association of Executives, New York Central Regional Vice President |
1989 - 1992 |
| National Urban League Association of Executives, New York Second Vice President |
1993 - 1994 |
| National Urban League Association of Executives, New York First Vice President |
1994 - 1997 |
| National Urban League Association of Executive, New York President |
1997 - 1999 |
| National Urban League, New York Member of the Board of Directors |
1997 - 1999 |
| National Urban League Center for Equity & Opportunity, Washington, D.C Member of the Board of Directors |
2002 - Present |
With all of his achievements, he is proudest of his family, his wife Katherine and children, Samuel III, Ryan, Candance and Charles.
