Community Remembers Civil Rights Hero
Jordain Carney
Issue date: 1/21/09 Section: News
Although Martin Luther King Jr. Day was celebrated Monday, the city of Fayetteville along with the University of Arkansas began events Thursday and will continue celebrating until the end of the month.
"I think it's important that we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day," said Theresa Rickert, "because we're passing on the history of the civil rights movement, which was a very important time in our country."
On Thursday, Jan. 15, a dedication ceremony was hosted to officially turn Sixth Street into Martin Luther King Boulevard. Saturday morning, volunteers met to take part in a service project sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Later that evening, a service to remember Dr. King and the time of the civil rights movement at the Sequoyah United Methodist Church was hosted. The NWA MLK Planning Committee sponsored the event. On Sunday afternoon, Jan. 18, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Northwest Arkansas Martin Luther King Planning Committee hosted a memorial service for King.
The morning of Martin Luther King Day, people gathered for a youth prayer breakfast at Hembree Alumni House at 8, followed by a youth activity at the HPER-both are part of a community service project. A vigil was also hosted in the UA's Union Connections Lounge, sponsored by the University of Arkansas Black Students Association and Associated Student Government. That evening at 7 p.m. the 13th annual Recommitment Banquet was held at the Fayetteville Town Center, with a speech given by Gene C. Young.
University Programs showed "King," a biography of Martin Luther King Jr., in UA's Union Connection Lounge yesterday. Dean Cynthia Nance will deliver a lecture in E.J. Ball Courtroom at the School of Law. The lecture will be followed by a reception. There also was a live telecast of the inauguration of Barack Obama from the Union Connections Lounge.
On Thursday, Jan. 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m the "Blankets for Warmth" project starts in the third-floor lobby of the business building. The project lasts until Jan. 30. At 8 p.m. that evening "Glory Road" will be showing in Room 220 of the HPER building. At a reception on Friday, Jan. 23, the Hon. Marion Humphrey will give a lecture at Giffels Auditorium in Old Main sponsored by UA's MLK Committee. Lastly, a discussion with assistant professor Pearl Ford will take place at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 28. Ford will discuss "African Americans in Politics" in the Multicultural Center, Union room 404.
Martin Luther King Jr., born on Jan. 15, 1929, was the famous civil rights movement leader, protesting racial discrimination in various states and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 while in Memphis, Tenn. Martin Luther King Jr. Day officially became a national holiday in 1983 when it was signed into law by Ronald Reagan to be celebrated on the third Monday of January, around King's birthday, and was first observed in 1986. It was not until 2000 that all 50 states recognized an official Martin Luther King Jr. Day after South Carolina signed the bill into law.
"It's a good reminder of what the civil rights movement means to our country," said Rhonda Duckett.
"I think it's important that we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day," said Theresa Rickert, "because we're passing on the history of the civil rights movement, which was a very important time in our country."
On Thursday, Jan. 15, a dedication ceremony was hosted to officially turn Sixth Street into Martin Luther King Boulevard. Saturday morning, volunteers met to take part in a service project sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. Later that evening, a service to remember Dr. King and the time of the civil rights movement at the Sequoyah United Methodist Church was hosted. The NWA MLK Planning Committee sponsored the event. On Sunday afternoon, Jan. 18, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the Northwest Arkansas Martin Luther King Planning Committee hosted a memorial service for King.
The morning of Martin Luther King Day, people gathered for a youth prayer breakfast at Hembree Alumni House at 8, followed by a youth activity at the HPER-both are part of a community service project. A vigil was also hosted in the UA's Union Connections Lounge, sponsored by the University of Arkansas Black Students Association and Associated Student Government. That evening at 7 p.m. the 13th annual Recommitment Banquet was held at the Fayetteville Town Center, with a speech given by Gene C. Young.
University Programs showed "King," a biography of Martin Luther King Jr., in UA's Union Connection Lounge yesterday. Dean Cynthia Nance will deliver a lecture in E.J. Ball Courtroom at the School of Law. The lecture will be followed by a reception. There also was a live telecast of the inauguration of Barack Obama from the Union Connections Lounge.
On Thursday, Jan. 22, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m the "Blankets for Warmth" project starts in the third-floor lobby of the business building. The project lasts until Jan. 30. At 8 p.m. that evening "Glory Road" will be showing in Room 220 of the HPER building. At a reception on Friday, Jan. 23, the Hon. Marion Humphrey will give a lecture at Giffels Auditorium in Old Main sponsored by UA's MLK Committee. Lastly, a discussion with assistant professor Pearl Ford will take place at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 28. Ford will discuss "African Americans in Politics" in the Multicultural Center, Union room 404.
Martin Luther King Jr., born on Jan. 15, 1929, was the famous civil rights movement leader, protesting racial discrimination in various states and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 while in Memphis, Tenn. Martin Luther King Jr. Day officially became a national holiday in 1983 when it was signed into law by Ronald Reagan to be celebrated on the third Monday of January, around King's birthday, and was first observed in 1986. It was not until 2000 that all 50 states recognized an official Martin Luther King Jr. Day after South Carolina signed the bill into law.
"It's a good reminder of what the civil rights movement means to our country," said Rhonda Duckett.
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