BLOOMINGTON – The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Commission has selected Ruth Aydt as the 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award recipient.
Ruth Aydt has contributed to community life in Monroe County since 2017 through research, documentation, volunteer coordination, and organizational leadership.
In 2017, Ruth joined the Monroe County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where she consolidated years of criminal justice data into a comprehensive report documenting racial disparities in the Monroe County criminal justice system. She later supported the organization by editing its newsletter, facilitating executive committee communications, and expanding virtual access to general body meetings.
“Ruth’s contributions have positively shaped this community. Her actions are just as bold and intentional as her words,” said commission chair Dr. Gloria Howell. “As someone who has worked closely with Ruth, I can attest to the fact that she is genuine and authentic and demonstrates an ethic of care that is unmatched.”
Ruth joined the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington’s Racial Justice Task Force in 2017 and has served in leadership roles since 2020. Through that work, she collaborated with local historian Elizabeth Mitchell to organize Indiana Black history tours to sites including the West Baden First Baptist (Colored) Baptist Church and Crispus Attucks High School in Indianapolis. She later became the inaugural chair of the NAACP’s Schools Sub-committee, supporting students involved in the development of a Monroe County Community School Corporation policy adopted in 2023.
Ruth is a regular volunteer at Neal Marshall Black Culture Center (NMBCC) and Resilience Productions events. She coordinated a volunteer staff of 75 people for the NMBCC’s Association of Black Culture Centers Conference, welcoming more than 200 people from across the country to campus.
The commission will present the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award to Ruth Aydt at the 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Event, on Monday, Jan. 19, at the Buskirk Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. More information about the event can be found at bton.in/mlk2026.
