Travis Brittain attends the Martin Luther King Unity Awards ceremony every year, but the thought that he might one day receive the same award never crossed his mind.
Gaston Clergy and Citizens Coalition recently named Brittain – Gastonia’s 24th chief of police – as one of the 2021 recipients of the Martin Luther King Unity Award.
Presented by GC3 annually since 2004, the award recognizes current or former Gaston County citizens who have continuously helped unite people across lines of class, race, gender and faith through community service.
From a young age, the Ashbrook High graduate knew he would work in public safety. Brittain first connected with Gastonia Police Department in 1989, then a teenager, through the city’s Explorer program, which he joined before he could drive a car.
The Rev. Dr. Rodney Freeman grins when he shares the story of how his grandfather had him destined to become an attorney. We were sitting on his porch and Daddy Jake looked at me and said Son you re going to be a lawyer, Freeman laughs. Because you talk all the time.
Daddy Jake didn t exactly foretell the future, but his chatterbox grandson, now the pastor at Mount Zion Restoration Church, still describes himself as a man who s never met a stranger. I still love to talk, Freeman said. That hasn t changed.
On Monday, Freeman will be one of three honorees with this year s Gaston County MLK Unity Awards.