Taylor Bembery
Blue & White Flash / Variety Editor
The 44th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Convocation will be held at 10 a.m. on Jan. 18 in the Rose Embley McCoy Auditorium on the Jackson State University campus. The event will be free and open to the public.
The Margaret Walker Center has announced that Reena Evers-Everette will be the keynote speaker. Evers-Everette is the daughter of civil rights activists Medger and Myrlie Evers.
Born in Mound Bayou, Miss., she moved with her family to Jackson so her father could expand his fight for human justice and equality. Evers-Everette was eight years old when she witnessed her father’s brutal assassination when he was gunned down in front of the family home.
Today, Evers-Everette serves as Executive Director for the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, a national organization founded by Myrlie Evers to fulfill the vision of civil rights leader Medgar Evers through education and civic engagement programs.
Some JSU students who are interested in attending the MLK birthday convocation stated their reasons for why it is important to celebrate and honor the legacy of King.
Lorrie Coleman, a senior social work major form Los Angeles, Calif., believes it is most important that the young generation continues to build and remember the legacy of King.
“Martin Luther King Jr. fought so hard and he genuinely cared about the rights of not only black people but all people. This season of celebrating King is to bring people together, so we can remember how far we have come and where we are now,” said Coleman.
Terica Hudson, a junior criminal justice major from Chicago, Ill., said that the values and legacy of King should be implemented everyday not only in the month of January.
“I believe what Martin Luther King Jr. stood for should be recognized every day. It’s unfortunate that we only get one day to recognize his legacy. When we are celebrating him, we should also keep in mind to honor all the civil rights leaders that contributed to the advancement of African-American people as well,” said Hudson.
Hudson will be participating in the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service on Jan. 21 which has been organized by The Division of Student Life and the Center for Service and Community Engaged Learning at JSU. This service day will give students the opportunity to volunteer in the community as a way to honor, remember and appreciate the legacy of King.
King’s holiday coincides with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, who has called for a national day of service to honor his memory and legacy.
The MLK Convocation will be immediately followed by the 18th Annual For My People Awards luncheon at 11:45 a.m. in the JSU Student Center Ballroom.
JSU holds this annual convocation to honor the legacy of King, who contributed so much to the African-American civil rights movement. Though he became a civil rights activist in the 1950s, to this day, his legacy and words are still affecting people who are familiar with him.
King led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped commence the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech.
On Oct. 14, 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize for resisting racial inequality through nonviolence. In the next few years leading up to his death, he expanded his focus to include poverty and the Vietnam War.
The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the King holiday to law in 1983, and it was first observed on January 20, 1986. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.
