Feb. 25, 2023, GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Dr. Patricia Pulliam and the late Cedric Ward, who created the GIANT Awards 40 years ago to preserve history and inspire the next generations, were honored Saturday with the GIANT’s first Legacy Awards for their impact.
GRCC since 1983 has hosted the annual awards recognizing African American leaders and organizations for their exceptional contributions in shaping the history and quality of life in Grand Rapids and West Michigan.
Leaders are honored each year in 12 categories, and with an overall GIANT Among Giants revealed at the ceremony. The 40th anniversary celebration highlighted the past GIANT honorees and honored Pulliam and Ward.
“Whatever the GIANT banquet has become is beyond my wildest imagination from 40 years ago,” Pulliam said. “That you, community. The GIANT banquet has grown, and grown, and grown. It’s all because of people like you. It’s all because of the people who have received awards during the past 40 years. I thank you for keeping it going in the spirit in which it started. We are recognizing people who made a difference here, not for themselves, but for the rest of us.”
Pulliam has made two careers shining a light on minority issues and concerns: first as a Grand Rapids Community College educator and later as a newspaper publisher.
She began at what was then Grand Rapids Junior College in the early 1970s as a language arts instructor and advisor to the Black Students Union.
She later became chair of the Council for Minority Concerns, an advisory group to GRJC President Richard Calkins that worked to attract, support and retain minority students. The council organized conflict resolution workshops, an annual banquet for minority high school seniors and their parents, and a loan fund to help African American, Hispanic and Native American students.
After a referendum passed in 1991 that created the independent Grand Rapids Community College, she became executive vice president and vice president for instruction and administration.
Pulliam capped her 30-year college career by serving as interim president in 1998 – the first woman and the first African American to lead GRCC. She received an inaugural Salute to Women Award in 1999.
Patricia and Yergan Pulliam purchased The Grand Rapids Times in 1986. Founded in 1957, it is the oldest existing weekly publication targeting the black community in Grand Rapids. She is active as both publisher and editor.
The arts and social justice were the twin passions of Cedric Ward, who passed away in 2002.
His theatrical debut at the age of 13 in a Circle Theater production of “Little Foxes” was the start of four decades of directing, performing and volunteering.
He and his wife, Sandy, established Circle Theater’s first children’s company, and he wrote and directed its first production, “Hansel and Gretel.” He founded the Robeson Players in the 1980s to provide theatrical opportunities to African Americans and co-founded the Grand Rapids Symphony’s “Symphony with Soul” concert.
Ward was focused on helping young people have access to higher education. and the Junior Giants Cedric Ward Leadership Scholarship is named in his honor. The Cedric and Sandy Ward Leadership Award goes annually to a Grand Rapids Community College student.
He was honored by the Arts Council of Greater Grand Rapids for his leadership and received the Dr. MaLinda P. Sapp Legacy Award posthumously from the Grand Rapids Symphony.
“As I look through the list of GIANT Among GIANT honorees, I see people who made an impact nationally, and those who focused on strengthening our community right here in West Michigan,” GRCC President Charles Lepper said at the event.
“There are doctors, educators, pastors, artists, business leaders, activists, judges, and those who filled other important roles. One thing they have in common is that none of them likely sought the recognition they received. They followed their hearts, did what they knew was right, and focused on making their community a better place. Some are with us tonight, others we cherish in our memories. By sharing their stories, we inspire the next generations to think about what they can do for others.”