Carla Eckels of KMUW was honored Wednesday night with the Drum Major Award at Wichita State University’s Martin Luther King Unity Walk.
The award is given annually to a person “who seeks greatness, but does so through service and love,” WSU said in a news release. It comes from a speech by King in which he said: “If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice, say that I was a drum major for peace: I was a drum major for righteousness."
WSU said Eckels was honored for her “hard work, care and dedication to both WSU and the greater Wichita Community.”
Eckels is director of Cultural Diversity, news and engagement, at KMUW. She has worked at the station for more than 20 years, where she also produces Soulsations, an R&B and gospel show.
In her nomination letter, a colleague said Eckels “is a vocal proponent of diversity, equality, human rights, and suffrage, not only in her personal life but also in her public life as a journalist. Whenever the opportunity arises, she investigates and covers news stories that promote and champion these ideals.”
