The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Morris University Center’s Meridian Ballroom was buzzing with activity as a crowd of nearly 250 gathered today to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Humanitarian awards and scholarships were distributed, and the program recounted the icon’s contributions to the cause for equality, diversity and justice.
SIUE Chancellor Julie Furst-Bowe provided welcoming remarks. Dr. Ed Hightower, serving as the guest speaker, delivered an inspiring account of King’s life and the worldwide issues still confronting society 40 years after his death. Hightower serves on the SIU Board of Trustees as vice president and is the superintendent of Edwardsville schools.
“We must have concern for the least and most vulnerable,” Hightower said, denoting that King’s vision was “guided by love instead of hatred.” He added, “The same issues he faced then, we face now.”
Expressing concern about the obstacles facing the country, and the world today, Hightower spoke in a somber tone conveying the spirit of King, “We all have a responsibility to reach out and help each other. Have we defaulted on our promise to care for the vulnerable?”
Some of the challenges he emphasized include a depressed job market, the mounting student loan debt younger generations face upon college graduation, inequality experienced by women and the gay population, and families constantly struggling to merely survive in the onslaught of crippling financial conditions.
SIUE Associate Provost for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion Venessa Brown introduced the awardees, while Furst-Bowe and Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Narbeth Emmanuel distributed individual plaques.
Demetrius L. Coleman, an SIUE senior from East St. Louis majoring in English language and literature, was the MLK Scholarship and Humanitarian Award recipient. Charlotte E. Johnson of Alton, a retired educator known as “the keeper of stories,” received the MLK Community Humanitarian Award. SIUE’s Dr. Aminata Cairo, an assistant professor of anthropology, received the MLK Faculty/Staff Humanitarian Award.
Clayton High School (St. Louis) senior Sophia Rotman, Villa Duchesne High School (St. Louis) junior Allison Federer, and Belleville (Ill.) West High School senior Andrew Bruce were awarded the essay, poetry and visual arts awards, respectively.
The event concluded with remarks from international student Magdalena Sustere, an SIUE freshman majoring in music performance. The Latvian native talked about the plight of her home country and how the principles espoused by the late King were applicable. She referenced a human chain of more than 2 million people holding hands that stretched over miles known as The Baltic Way. This nonviolent approach to social change made a difference, leading to the eventual freedom of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia from Russia in 1991.
“A lot of international students come to America to find freedom,” she said. “But there are many people who live here who are not free.”
She also referenced the prominence of slavery and human trafficking across the globe, and how King’s ideals are ever relevant and necessary today to bring about a global atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance.
Also enhancing the event were performances by the SIUE Black Theater Workshop, the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School and the SIUE Flute Choir.