LYNN — Lynn Community Television Sports Reporter and local sports talk show “After The Whistle” host Mukala Kabongo was presented with Salem State University’s Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award for his impact on the community as a local journalist and teacher.

Salem State’s Martin Luther King Jr. Award is presented annually to a handful of alumni, students, teachers, and other community members who have made “outstanding and significant contributions to the causes of freedom, justice, peace, and equality” in a manner consistent with King’s legacy.

“Anytime you get something that’s representative of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that just lets you know you’re doing something right. This is a great honor from Salem State and from (Salem State Director Dr.) Judith Josephs,” Kabongo said.

​​Kabongo moved to the U.S. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1993 and graduated from Lynn English in 2006 before earning his bachelor’s degree in communications at Salem State and eventually his master’s in journalism at Emerson College.

Josephs nominated Kabongo for the award this year because of his years of dedicated work as a journalist in Lynn through LCTV, and his former role as a television-production teacher at Lynn English.

Although he first began working for LCTV as a cameraman covering local sports events, Kabongo’s role rapidly evolved as he began interviewing student-athletes and coaches. Through a camera lens, Kabongo also captured some of the city’s momentous events, such as a 2020 anti-police brutality protest that was prompted by the murder of George Floyd.

“They met at the commons and a lot of people gave speeches on the current state of what was going on. People came up just to express their feelings and we all marched down to the police station,” Kabongo said. “It was good to see all those people for the same cause, just to express themselves, express their frustration, express what we need to do as a people just to make things better. No issues as well — it was just one of those peaceful events where people came for the betterment they want to see in society.”

Reflecting on some of the year’s highlights as a sports reporter, Kabongo said he particularly enjoyed covering the Lynn English vs. Lynn Classical Thanksgiving football game and the Lynn Tech vs. Malden game, in which Lynn Tech made a “pretty wild” comeback in the fourth quarter.

Ultimately, Kabongo said he is motivated by Lynn’s community and the people he meets within it.

“The Lynn community has been very supportive — the students, the coaches… they continue to support me wherever they see me, and it’s great. It’s also great to shed light on Lynn. A lot of people have negative things to say about Lynn, but there’s a lot of positive things too, especially in the sports world,” Kabongo said.