2/20/2025 - Jackson, Miss.

The 2025 Karen Cummins Community Service Award was presented today to Drs. John and Vera Mae Perkins for their commitment to community development, racial reconciliation, education, housing and more over the past 60 years.

In presenting the award, Trustee Dr. Ormella Cummings noted that the Perkins “have had an impact on communities from California to Mississippi and everywhere in between through their dedication to social justice.”

Married since 1951, the Perkins established the Voice of Calvary Institute in Mendenhall, Mississippi, and were quickly seen as leaders in the work to ensure equality and justice. In 1982, they established the Harambee Christian Family Center in Pasadena, California and later the Christian Community Development Association, which works to strengthen underserved people in urban settings. The Perkins returned to Mississippi in 1996, and created the John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation and the Spencer Perkins Center, named in memory of their son, Spencer, which provides after-school tutoring, art camps, higher education internships, and youth gardening programs.

The Karen Cummins Community Service Award is presented every year as part of Black History Month, and is named in memory of former Trustee Karen Cummins, who passed away in 2017.

2025 Karen Cummins Community Service Award

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The Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning governs the public universities in Mississippi, including Alcorn State University; Delta State University; Jackson State University; Mississippi State University including the Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Mississippi University for Women; Mississippi Valley State University; the University of Mississippi including the University of Mississippi Medical Center; and the University of Southern Mississippi.

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