The 24th annual Champaign County celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. took place on Sunday, Jan. 19 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in Urbana.
The countywide celebration aims to honor Dr. King’s work of pursuing equity and justice for all, and renew local commitments to these causes.
The event included a community choir performance, directed by Audrey Keaton-Mock and Terry Napper, and several speakers, including Robert Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and Vice Bishop Jimmie O. Holmes, a pastor at Morning Star Free Will Baptist Church in Urbana.
The event recognized the work of several community members, including ten local high school students “that are doing exceptional work in the classroom and outside of the classroom as well, so just in the community, volunteering, taking the time out of their day to help out others,” said Mikal Washington, a community relations specialist with the city of Champaign.
The students who received awards are: Grace Coady, Destinel Bakubile-Ndaya, Kimora Maynor, Ellie Johnson, Daniella Nsundi, John Smith, Kierra Moten, Michelle Hernandez-Hernandez, Franklina Kabu and Elizabeth Ngo-Tonye-Dimal.
Moten, a student at Urbana High School, received the Willie Summerville Memorial Award for Excellence in the Arts. She said she plans to study music education to improve the educational experience for Black students and students of color.
“I noticed that there’s a lack of teachers of color, so I want to be one of those teachers to make sure that our education is equal,” she said.
Meeting Willie Summerville as a young girl inspired her to study music and improve education through its power, Moten said. She shared her favorite quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.”
The following people also received awards for their contributions to the community:
- Tracey Dace: James R. Burgess, Jr. – Susan Freiburg Humanitarian Award
- Donna Tanner-Harold: Doris Hoskins Prestigious Community Service Award
- Terry Townsend: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Outstanding Achievement Award
Members of the MLK Countywide Executive Committee read aloud from the Countywide MLK proclamation together. The proclamation seeks to pursue the advancement of civil rights and public service, unity among neighbors and community, inclusion between people with diverse backgrounds, and collaboration within governments and residents.
Among the MLK Countywide Executive Committee members: the mayors of Champaign and Urbana, the Champaign County executive, the president of Parkland College, the chancellor of university of Urbana-Champaign, and the mayor of the Village of Rantoul.
Urbana mayor Diane Wolfe Marlin told IPM News that the countywide celebrations last all week and aim to honor Dr. King’s work of pursuing equity and justice for all. She said the city also focuses on these goals.
“So whether it’s through, housing or education or opportunity or jobs, it’s something that all of us and even through the way we build our infrastructure in our cities, we have to look at this through the lens of equity,” Marlin said.