In cities and universities across the state, people came together to commemorate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on the state and federal holiday bearing his name.
In west Arkansas, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Association held their annual King breakfast at the university on Monday. The event featured a panel discussion in which leaders of local organizations talked about what their respective groups do and what in their lives compelled them to take action in their community, among other topics.
In Pine Bluff, a parade and community program on Monday to honor the legacy of King capped off a week of activities in honor of the slain civil-rights leader.
And in Fayetteville, marchers paraded through the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus before attending a vigil.
King, a prominent civil- rights leader who was born Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, was shot and killed in Memphis on April 4, 1968. He had gone to Memphis to support black sanitation workers during a strike.
His legacy is honored on the third Monday in January as a state and federal holiday.
At UA-Fort Smith, panelists involved in the discussion about King were Marcus Johnson, president of Believe in Fort Smith; Emily Treadaway, county coordinator of The Call in Crawford and Sebastian counties; L. Mireya Reith, executive director of the Arkansas United Community Coalition; Charolette Tidwell, founder of Antioch for Youth & Family; and the Rev. Soniyyah "Sonna" B. Key, founder of Police and Community Engagement. The role of moderator was filled by Daniel Maher, associate professor of sociology and anthropology at UAFS.
Maher said King, in his book Letter from Birmingham Jail, wrote, "The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be."
"After reflecting on that question for a moment, Dr. King concluded, 'Perhaps the South, the nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists,'" Maher said.
Maher referred to the panelists as some of the most creative extremists in the region.
One of the questions Maher asked the panelists was what obstacles or challenges their organizations have faced and what they have done to overcome them to continue their respective missions. During her response, Reith brought up the issue of structural racism in the community.
"It's the well-intentioned people that don't know what they're doing is keeping equity from happening because they've never been challenged to see the world in another way," Reith said.
"And I feel like that is what we confront most here in Arkansas: a lot of well-intentioned people, a lot of people that all believe in God and faith, and they say they're going to church and they're praying, they are good to their family and friends, but they have only seen the world in one way, and that keeps them from many times being open to other ways of looking at things and understanding why organizations, individuals like us, feel that racism still exists in the states."
Another question Maher posed was how could the people who were present at Monday's event be creative extremists themselves. Tidwell said she believed the footprints of King allow people to see a transformation, with King challenging people on a "pilgrimage of truth finding" which he went on during his life by learning from various figures, such as Mahatma Gandhi.
"But we must, in these halls of learning, with our lives, teach the next generation that education's not a bad thing, but first of all, we need to get educated," Tidwell said.
Tidwell urged those present that if there is hate in their lives, to get rid of it, in addition to reading everything King had written. She told them there are generations behind them that will follow in their footsteps.
Other events honoring King will take place at UAFS throughout this week, according to a university news release.
PINE BLUFF
Hosted by Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration, the week-long celebration remembering King's legacy began Jan. 14, the day before what would have been King's 91st birthday, with programs in area schools, a kickoff celebration at the Pine Bluff Country Club and programs in area churches.
This marked the 37th year for the Original KingFest Parade/March in Pine Bluff.
In Pine Bluff on Monday, about 170 participants, including marching bands from several area schools, elected officials, and others marched a 1.5-mile parade route in 40 degree temperatures before filing into the Pine Bluff Convention Center for a program that included modern dance, prayer and patriotism.
Jonathan Burgess, a 17-year-old Pine Bluff High School senior, said that his generation lives in perilous times with school shootings and other violent acts in the news on a daily basis.
"His message continues to resonate today," Burgess said of King. "Our generation will make the next batch of leaders who will solve these problems."
Burgess noted that the first official observance of King's birthday occurred Jan. 20, 1986.
"On this date, decades later, I encourage you to find your vision," he said.
A day of service that was declared for last Saturday in honor of King had to be postponed due to weather. Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington said it would be rescheduled before the end of February.
FAYETTEVILLE
In Fayetteville, several hundred people marched in honor of King through the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville campus Monday, singing and chanting before attending a vigil.
Members of the University of Arkansas chapters of historically black sorority Zeta Phi Beta and historically black fraternity Phi Beta Sigma attended the city's 24th annual march.
"It makes me happy to see that it's not just people of color," Kandyse Flanigan, a member of the sorority, said of participants.
Seven-year-old Eliana Woods marched with her parents, Melissa and Michael Woods, holding a sign that read, "MLK did a good thing. We will keep his dream alive."
"We wanted to make sure our daughter understands its importance," Melissa Woods said.
Joseph Daniels III, a university alumnus who served as president of the Black Graduate Student Association, was the keynote speaker at the vigil at the Arkansas Union. He asked attendees to lock arms with the people next to them.
"You feel stronger, don't you? You feel like you have to be stretched a little bit to take into account the person next you because the person next to you may not be the same stature, the same figure, the same height, but you're connected. You're holding each other up. Just imagine what that looks like in community," Daniels said.
State Desk on 01/21/2020