On Monday, Jan. 20, Eastern Illinois University (EIU) hosted several events in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day (MLK Day). EIU has hosted various events on that day since 1987. On this day, in the morning, at the Grand Ballroom at the MLK Student Union, there was breakfast at 8 a.m. to kick off the event, followed by a panel discussion concerning his legacy at 9 a.m.
Immediately following the breakfast and panel at the Grand Ballroom was the blanket-making event, designated to bring the EIU campus together, at 10 a.m. for the second year in a row. Overall, there were several events to kick start MLK Day: breakfast, panel discussion, a blanket-making event and finally the vigil march later in the afternoon.
As much good as Dr. King attempted to contribute to American society despite its pervasive racism, he was not celebrated by a lot of people, least of all many racist white people who wanted to keep the status quo of putting African-Americans and other people of color in their place, being second class citizens with very few, if any, rights.
However, many African Americans resented Dr. King and viewed him as a threat ever since he successfully led the Montgomery Bus Boycott in Montgomery, AL, which began with Rosa Parks’ arrest for her refusal to give up her seat to a white man.
The reason for this resentment from African Americans towards Dr. King was that many African American leaders nationwide, prior to Dr. King, were on the frontlines leading the fight against racial discrimination. After the bus boycott was a success, they felt that Dr. King was getting more credit than he deserved in the fight against racial injustice.
The main reason Dr. King was chosen to lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott was that he was new to the area since he was born and raised in Atlanta. Other local African American pastors who had worked with white people in power could not afford to alienate themselves and had someone who they could mentor who, if the boycott were not successful, could whisk him out to a different location.
On Nov. 2, 1983, the late President, Ronald Reagan, signed a bill at the White House to create Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday, effective beginning in 1986 which is celebrated on the third Monday in January after a 15-year fight following his assassination of Thursday, April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Considering that Dr. King joined the predominate African American fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, while a doctoral student at Boston University on June 2, 1952, EIU’s local chapter, Zeta Nu, since 1987, has been responsible for putting together many events.
Instead of having the vigil march at 5 p.m. on MLK Day, the fraternity moved the event up to 2:30 p.m. to account for the bitter wintry weather and was held at the University Ballroom in the MLK Student Union on EIU’s campus. This year’s theme was: “Mission Possible: Safeguarding Freedom and Democracy while Mobilizing Dreams into Reality.”
Let us come together to celebrate Dr. King’s enduring vision and take steps toward transforming dreams into reality.
