Ryan Saddler Q&A: ‘There is great work to be done’

These are busy times for Ryan Saddler as he juggles a wide variety of projects.  Mr. Saddler is the associate vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at St. Ambrose University, Davenport, and is involved with numerous organizations in the region.  One of those community projects is serving as CEO of the Friends of […]

These are busy times for Ryan Saddler as he juggles a wide variety of projects.  Mr. Saddler is the associate vice president for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at St. Ambrose University, Davenport, and is involved with numerous organizations in the region.  One of those community projects is serving as CEO of the Friends of MLK, Inc., a nonprofit formed to empower and encourage the Quad Cities area to practice the civil and human rights for all races, colors, and creeds as exemplified by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  

For the past several years, Mr. Saddler and Friends of MLK have been working to make a big dream become a reality – the creation of MLK Park at 501 Brady St., Davenport. The downtown park will be a community space for gathering, learning, remembrance and celebration. Its features will include: history panels that will have various themes, such as civil rights history, local pioneers of civil rights and Hispanic heritage themes; a stage; and a place for vendors to gather. The park, which has been in the planning and fundraising stages for years, appears to be almost ready for construction. The $1.1 million park plan received several donations and grants from various sources in recent weeks. If all goes according to plan, construction will begin this spring and the park will be complete this summer. Mr. Saddler recently said he sees the park as a “celebration spot” to honor MLK and the many Quad Cities pioneers who helped the civil rights movement. “The vision for an MLK memorial began in 2014 with a City of Davenport Task Force,” he said in an earlier news release. “It is our hope that all Davenport residents and Quad Citizens will see this park as an opportunity to gather and honor the life and legacy of Dr. King. This park is our reminder of the fight for equity and justice that has made America what it is today.” Mr. Saddler, whose previous work in the DEI space helped earned him the 2021 Volunteer of the Year Award from the Quad Cities Chamber, was asked by the QCBJ to reflect on the long journey to get funds and approval for MLK Park as well as other work in the region in this Q&A: Why is it important to have an MLK Park in Davenport? There are a few reasons I feel the MLK Park in Davenport is important. First, this park is the City of Davenport's visible landmark commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. King. This was the vision established by a task force commissioned by then Mayor Bill Gluba back in 2015. Second, this park will be a destination location for a collection of Davenport's cultural and ethnic history.  Third, this particular location is believed to have significance to the Black community. This strip of 5th Street is believed to have had the first Black business and one of the city's first Black business districts. What have been some of the challenges in creating the MLK Park? The first came in 2015 soon after we announced the location and our first draft. We learned Newbury Living had bid on a development project on the same plot of land. We obviously negotiated a deal to proceed with both projects. We currently occupy roughly 1,700 square feet within the Newbury 501 property. The area we occupy is adjacent to the park location. The second major challenge came once the second set of plans had been drawn. Newbury had landed a federal grant for the project, but one of the stipulations was that the building and park could not be built at the same time. Therefore we put the park plans on hold for a few years. The final challenge has been raising over $1 million for a park on the heels of the recent pandemic.    What has the community response been to the MLK Park plans? This community has responded favorably to the park layout and expected intent of the park. A number of donors are most excited about the local history that will be on display throughout the park. While we plan to display information on Dr. King's only visit to Davenport, we also plan to display the Davenport Civil Rights story and some neat Black and Hispanic history. When will construction work start and be complete on MLK Park? We hope to break ground once the weather allows and a late summer completion. The actual timeline will be determined once we've had a chance to put the complete construction team together. Since being formed, how has the Friends of MLK helped the community? The two annual events have been the Juneteenth Festival and the Martin Luther King Day program. We've also worked with a few other organizations addressing racial healing, supporting Black entrepreneurs, assembling and distributing COVID-19 care packets and finally hosting a free clothing distribution for local homeless. What are your future goals for Friends of MLK? At this point, we are focused on completing this park and curating the history that we plan to display in the park as well as inside the Interpretive Center. We are currently in the midst of a state grant where our focus is to identify the economic impact of Davenport's Black business history which dates back to the late 1800s. How has your job as St. Ambrose helped you in your work with the Friends of MLK and other projects? St. Ambrose University is anchored in community and service founded on the Catholic intellectual traditions. Fighting for justice through the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, St. Ambrose faculty, staff and students joined members of the community to lead the Davenport Civil Rights movement. Much of my job as a DEI officer is to identify and address the inequities both on our campus and our broader community. While most of my Friends of MLK duties are outside of my St. Ambrose work hours, I get to find creative ways to marry the two. You have been involved in many projects in the community. What keeps you going? There is a great quote I heard Bryan Stevenson state a few years ago. He said, and I embraced this notion, "I don't do what I do because I have to, I do what I do because I realize I'm hurting too." Hurting from the oppressions of our past and the miseducation of our history. There is great work to be done as we look to our future as a community. I'm just happy to be blessed enough to have the energy and passion for this work day in and day out. What are some of your personal goals for the rest of the year? Again, I want to see this MLK Park fully completed in the vision we've laid out on paper. There is always work to be done as we work toward a more equitable and just society. Lyrics from this song sang once by the great Mahalia Jackson sums things up best for me … "If I could help somebody as I travel along; if I can help somebody with a word or song; if I can help somebody from doing wrong; I will know my living shall not be in vain."