The annual MLK Day of Celebraation took place Monday in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the struggles of the Civil Rights Movement. The program was presented by the Office of Multicultural Student Life and the Black Cultural Programming Committee.
“This is something we do every year,” said Ashley Omelogu, junior in food science and technology and member of the BCPC. “This year, instead of a regular speaker, we wanted someone to reenact and perform. We usually start planning over the summer, but it takes about a month to get everything finalized.”
The UC was filled with over 100 attendees by 3 p.m. The program began with a recording of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Then BCPC member Derrick Thompson gave the formal introduction, listing some of the events to come and stating the purpose and meaning of the MLK Day of Celebration.
“This is about the history and evolution of African-Americans,” Thompson said.
Next, Elizabeth Sueing, member of the Zeta Delta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, sang the Black National Anthem. The audience stood and sang along with Sueing. The anthem’s lyrics, written by James Weldon Johnson, were provided in the event’s programs.
After the audience returned to their seats, a selection of slam poetry was performed. Each poem covered different issues of civil rights, including the history of the movement, the future of the civil rights struggle, and whether or not King’s “dream” had yet been fulfilled.
An audio-visual slideshow documenting King’s life followed the poetry. The strip featured pictures from King’s childhood, wedding, his family, protests, his assassination and funeral. The strip concluded with a photo of former President Ronald Reagan signing the bill that would make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday in 1983.
Actor Elliot Porter then performed the first part his skit “Wisdom of Willie Brown.” The skit was divided into three segments, each performed at different times throughout the entire MLK Day of Celebration. The skit is both a humorous and dramatic chronicle of Willie Brown’s early survival of an attempted lynching, meeting King and his involvement with the Civil Rights Movement.
The Love United Gospel Choir then took the stage to perform. The group of over 25, all dressed in matching black and red attire, were accompanied with live drums, guitar and keyboard, and sang three songs, concluding with “We Shall Overcome.”
Although initially hampered by technical difficulties, the UT chapter of the NAACP also paid tribute to King and the Civil Rights Movement. Their presentation featured a slide show with pictures and biographies of many Civil Rights leaders, including Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and even President John F. Kennedy.
Near the end of the celebration, members of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity performed. Members walked down the aisles of the auditorium toward the stage while reciting verses from the poem “Thy Will be Done,” which was written anonymously. The fraternity pays tribute to King yearly, and the celebration is particularly meaningful to them as King was a member of the fraternity.
“With him being a brother, we always want to take part in the program,” said Akoma Onwuzuruigbo, a member of the fraternity who performed in the skit. “It’s always about respecting Dr. Martin Luther King. His presence in our fraternity, his presence in the black community, and really his presence in everyone’s lives.”
