Written by Arius Gatson

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was and still is to this day a highly credible and important activist that has impacted the lives of many individuals. Dr. King is greatly known for his contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. Before the Civil Rights Movement, King planned the Montgomery bus boycott. This boycott was in relation to the Jim Crow laws and happened shortly after the arrest of Rosa Parks. After the boycott, Dr. King contributed to the Civil Rights Movement by leading a protest in Alabama with other African American individuals in the 1960s. During this protest, Dr. King was arrested with other protesters. While in jail, King was inspired to write his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” This letter caught the eyes of many people and contributed to Dr. King’s legacy. Shortly after, King led a peaceful march in Washington D.C. where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.” (The Nobel Peace Prize 1964. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/1964/king/biographical/) 

Dr. King has impacted the African American community in various amounts of ways; these were just a small portion of the achievements he had done.

To celebrate Dr. King and his contributions, Concordia University Chicago (CUC) held an event to celebrate the life and legacy of “Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” The event will be held on January 20th, 2020 at CUC. The day was filled with events for individuals to enjoy and celebrate Dr. King. This event always has been successful in bringing people together to celebrate Dr. King. Although this event is held on campus at CUC, it’s open for individuals all over to come out and celebrate. To get more information about the event, I had the chance to sit and talk to Blanca Correa. Correa is the director of the Multicultural and First Generation student engagement office.

Typically the day starts off with a worship service from 10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. The worship service will be held in the Chapel of Our Lord and will be given by Black pastors. Following the service, individuals will go over to the KCC and head to the OPRF room where individuals who RSVPed will receive free lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. After lunch is over, Dr. Dawn will give a welcome speech to everyone in the room and introduce the keynote speaker. CUC’s invited keynote speaker will then take the stand. Rev. Gerard Bolling is a former CUC graduate and will be providing service in worship and the keynote speech this year. Rev. Bolling’s speech will provide an insight into Dr. King’s legacy, how his legacy has impacted the community, and how his legacy impacted the CUC community.

One thing that will be done differently at this event is, there will be praise dancers at the event who will perform in the OPRF room. After the keynote speech, the Black Student Union (BSU) will have a panel discussion. This discussion is called, “Can I Have a Seat at the Table,” which will last from 1:10 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Correa mentioned, “There will be staff members and students who will be apart of the panel. The panel will be interactive and will face the question, ‘ what are the challenges that are faced?’ ” 

This question will be turned over to the audience, and as a group, we will think of solutions for these challenges and more specifically, how can the CUC community help to solve some of these issues. Lastly, the day will end with a unity prayer. The prayer will be from 2:10 p.m.- 2:20 p.m. in the chapel or at the Martin Luther statue if the weather is okay. This prayer will involve everyone who is there. The prayer is a reminder as to why individuals will come together. It is used to spark inspiration to everyone who will be in attendance.

Correa also mentioned, “I hope that people will walk away with that fire. I feel when you add a little fuel to the fire, people get inspired, and our hope is that people get inspired to action.”

CUC invites people to celebrate Dr. King and his many contributions to the nation. MLK Day is also important because this event will be held on his birthday. To register online for this event, students, faculty, staff, and anyone else can register at https://cuchicago.edu/mlk. For any questions for Blanca Correa, she can be reached at, Blanca.Correa@cuchicago.edu.