The Springfield Museums are pleased to announce the annual Ubora Award and Ahadi Youth Award winners.
Now in its 31st year of celebrating leadership by people of African heritage, the Ubora Award honors Dr. Gerald B. Cutting and Carol Moore Cutting as exemplary leaders and role models.
The Cuttings were surprised by members of the awards committee who announced the good news and presented the couple with a homemade butter poundcake. Asked about the award, Carol Moore Cutting said: “This award is so special. It represents our community. I could not be more amazed. This is wonderful!” Dr. Cutting added, “I feel so very honored and humbled to join the prestigious ranks of other Ubora Award recipients who came before us.” With warm and rich laughter in her voice, Carol Moore Cutting added: “The announcement was such a surprise. It got my heart! And I do love a good homemade poundcake!”
The 13th Ahadi Youth Award honors the remarkable activist energy and artistic power of Kayla Staley. When asked to comment on what it means to win this prestigious award, Staley said: “It feels wonderful, amazing! It is awesome that people are thinking of me and supportive of me. It makes me want to do better and keep working hard.”
The Ubora Award and the Ahadi Youth Award—conferred by the African Hall Sub-Committee of the Springfield Museums annually—are awarded to Black leaders from Greater Springfield who have—above and beyond—demonstrated commitment to fields of community service, education, science, humanities, and/or the arts.
The Award Ceremony will be held September 17, from 6-8 pm, in the Wood Museum of Springfield History, with more information to follow.
ABOUT DR. GERALD BRUCE CUTTING
Graduates of Tuskegee (Institute) University, the Cuttings are a couple who are no strangers to firsts, reported Rhonda M. Brace, who nominated them for the Ubora Award. “Bruce is the first and only Black veterinarian owner in greater Springfield. And Carol Moore Cutting is the first woman in Massachusetts to own and operate a FM radio station, WEIB-106.3 Smooth FM.”
Dr. Cutting is the first and only African American person to own and operate a veterinary hospital and clinic in Western Massachusetts. At 11 years old, he decided he wanted to be a veterinarian so he could help save animals. After graduating as a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Tuskegee University in Alabama, he worked hard to achieve this dream of owning his own practice, mentoring, and encouraging students to explore STEM careers. For almost 50 years until his retirement, Dr. Cutting lived his dream of serving multiple generations of “pet parents” at his Memorial Drive Animal Clinic in Chicopee, MA.
Dr. Cutting has served on many local boards, is a long-standing faithful member of Springfield’s historic St. John’s Congregational Church and has always been a dedicated member of many community-service and fraternal organizations. Since 1962 he’s been a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, his current status is Lifetime Member, and he has actively served in Springfield’s Theta Iota Lambda Chapter. He is also a member of The Squires Club, a Charter member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity (The Beta Sigma Boule since 1983), as well as a member of other veterinary professional societies including Emeritus status in the American Veterinary Medical Association.
A native of Boston, Dr. Cutting decided to make greater Springfield his home in 1969. Now a community fixture, he continues to inspire others with his infectious smile, loquacious conversation, and gregarious personality.
ABOUT CAROL MOORE CUTTING
Carol Moore Cutting was born in segregated Livingston, Alabama and was raised in a close-knit community by a family that valued education. Cutting enrolled at Tuskegee (Institute) University in Alabama and graduated from there in 1969 with her BA in secondary education. She went on to attend graduate school at Springfield College, graduating from there in 1971 with her master’s degree in Community Leadership and Development.
Connecting community through communication is what motivated Carol Moore Cutting to patiently persist in pursuing a Construction Permit from the Federal Communications Commission to build a FM radio station in the community. Cutting’s pursuit of a Construction Permit and broadcast license to build an FM radio station from the ground up is a testimony to her strong faith, spirituality, and belief that more independent programming options should be available in the community.
Upon graduation from Tuskegee (Institute) University in Alabama, Cutting with her husband Dr. Cutting moved to Springfield where they knew no one and had little knowledge of the community. Expecting to connect with Springfield by way of the radio to find needed community resources like churches, beauty shops, social events, etc., Cutting found nothing relatable (public television was nonexistent). Since the 1970s, Cutting pursued ways to make a change in representation possible and in 1984 applied to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a radio frequency permitting her to build a FM station. After an exhaustive fifteen-year legal battle with an existing broadcaster, she prevailed all the way in the process to the Washington D.C. Court of Appeals. She finally began test broadcasting in 1999.
Carol Moore Cutting became the first woman in Massachusetts and the first African American in all New England to have been granted a Construction Permit to build, own and continuously operate a FM radio station. Carol and WEIB-106.3 Smooth FM have been recognized on a national level for this bold achievement in the broadcast community. In 1983, Cutting was interviewed, video recorded, and inducted by The HistoryMakers of Chicago with the goal of documenting and educating the world on the accomplishments of African Americans through video oral history interviews that are being preserved. Today her station can be heard locally, regionally, nationally, and globally, 24/7 over the Internet. In addition, Carol serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB), which is the first and only trade organization representing the interests of African American owners of radio and television stations across the country. Cutting serves on the Board of Directors and is the North Atlantic Regional Representative addressing` the specific concerns that face African American broadcasters.
Cutting’s outstanding leadership in the community is prevalent by a few examples. She is a Lifetime Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and is the “visionary, organizer and charter member” of Springfield’s Xi Xj Omega Chapter, chartered in 1982. She has served on many local committees and boards including the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, WGBY Public Television, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Fine Arts Center Emeritus member, the American Heart Association, and Springfield Chapter of Girl Friends, Inc., to name a few.
Carol Moore Cutting has come a long way from the Black Belt in rural Alabama to owning and operating her own radio station while overcoming tremendous obstacles, odds, and challenges while dealing with the two jeopardies of being a woman in a male dominated business and an African American broadcaster.
“Individually and as a couple, the Cuttings have been the recipients of numerous awards and recognitions for their service and philanthropy in greater Springfield for decades,” Rhonda Brace said. In addition to extensive community service, the Cuttings have also mentored others and helped them along the way encouraging entrepreneurship and advancing education, especially STEM. (As they have done for their own adult children, Alysia and Darrel).
ABOUT KAYLA STALEY
Kayla Staley is a rising senior at the Conservatory of the Arts in Springfield. She is also a rising star who is determined to use her gift as a singer to inspire positive change.
Staley was nominated for the Ahadi Youth Award by her choir director Marcos Carreras and her guidance counselor Linda Desarro who commended Staley’s commitment and dedication to honing her craft as an artist. Staley is a remarkable singer, who aspires to musical theater. She said her favorite song is “Maybe This Time,” from the musical Cabaret. “I love this song because of the style of the singing and the strength of the words. She’s been losing all her life, but this time she is going to be happy and get what she deserves. This song speaks to resilience and building yourself up.”
Staley is hopeful her singing will inspire people. “Singing in front of people is an opportunity to make positive change by bringing communities together to do something they all enjoy.” Staley wants to spread a message of peace and unity—and protest. “I want to raise awareness about homelessness, Black Lives Matter, and access to equal education for all people.”
In her nomination letter, Deserro shared that Staley is currently enrolled in the highest academic level courses where she maintains a 4.0 GPA and is ranked near the top of her graduating class. Carreras shared that Staley’s dedication is among the most impressive he has ever witnessed and experienced in his years of teaching. “Despite the many challenges of Covid over the past two years, Kayla’s persistence, and fortitude to seek as many musical opportunities to work as a soloist has been truly remarkable during this tumultuous health crisis.”
Of note, she has earned over $20,000 in vocal scholarships since January 2021, as she was selected to receive private coaching and lessons from Broadway stars, college professors, summer overnight music intensive enrichment camps, and masterclasses with Broadway coaches. She is a frequent guest artist with Grammy winner Ben Gundersheimer (Mister G), and she often performs in the community for special corporate events, Springfield School Committee meetings and Springfield Public School (SPS) special events and is a star in the Conservatory of the Arts music programs.
Staley is among two students from the Conservatory accepted into the Massachusetts Music Educator’s Association’s Western Regional Honor’s Festival Choir, which was the first in twenty years for any students to represent the city of Springfield for this event! She served as the President of the Junior Class. “It is without question that Ms. Staley is the consummate portrait of an SPS graduate who represents the very best qualities of the students we produce in the city of Springfield,” Carreras said.
Looking forward to college after graduation next year, Staley said she wants to explore her path. “I want to expand my knowledge of music and I want to stay active in my community,” Staley said. “Continuing to sing, continuing to be a part of music equals freedom to me. And I want to share that feeling with others.”
ABOUT THE AWARDS
True to the Swahili word that comprises its name, the Ubora Award recognizes an adult of African heritage who exemplifies excellence in their commitment to creating a better community through service. In 2021, the Ubora Award was given to Robert “Cee” Jackson.
Named for the Swahili word for “promise,” the Ahadi Youth Award is presented to a young African American who excels in academics and performs admirable service to the Greater Springfield community. Eligible candidates must be age 19 or younger, live in or have strong ties to the Greater Springfield area, and be currently enrolled in grades 10, 11, or 12. In 2021, the Ahadi Award was given to Tigist Dawit Terefe.
The African Hall Subcommittee is a volunteer group comprised of educators, businesspeople, and community leaders from the Black community. The group has administered this annual award since 1992. A full list of the awardees can be found on the Springfield Museums website.