People of different ages, races and social groups gathered in downtown Grand Forks Monday with a common mission: to honor and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. and to reiterate the historical figure's dream of equality.
The celebration started at 11 a.m. when more than 100 people walked from Central High School to the Empire Arts Center, bearing the cold and chanting the words "we shall overcome."
The group, made up mostly of students and community members from Grand Forks and Crookston then met inside the Empire for socializing and refreshments as an audio recording of King's famous "I have a dream" speech played in the theater:
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
The presentation at the Empire, "The Faces of Civil Rights: It Isn't Just A Black Thing," was part of the second annual Martin Luther King Day celebration organized by UND and University of Minnesota-Crookston, accompanying UND's Interfaith Week this week.
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"The Faces of Civil Rights" presentation featured music, spoken word poetry and dancing by UND, UMC and Grand Forks high school students. About 300 people attended the event, surpassing last year's count of about 250, said Jenny Wirth, a UND graduate student and one of the event's organizers.
The dancing and music in the one-hour program showcased different cultural influences as a symbol of diversity. Faculty members from both UND and UMC also spoke on the importance of King's work, fighting for equality in a nonviolent, peaceful way during the 1950s and '60s.
Sharing King's values
UND student Katie Gruening said she attended the event because she likes to support the UND multicultural center and because people sometimes forget the values of equality that King stood for.
"I think it's a great way to see the people of Grand Forks come together for something and to remember something we tend to forget," Gruening said.
Serge Tatsinkou, a UND student and member of the African Student Union at UND, was also there to commemorate King and to show how grateful he is, he said.
"He (King) did a lot for this country. Without him, I don't think I'd be here in the first place," Tatsinkou said. "He showed us how to express our thoughts and what getting people together can do." Tatsinkou added that he wished he could go back in time to listen to King speak in person.
After the music, poetry and dance, event organizers Malika Carter, director of Multicultural Student Services at UND, and Lorna Hollowell, director of Diversity and Multicultural Programs at UMC, presented this year's Spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Award.
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The award went to Carol Gregg, director of the Care & Share Inc., a shelter and assistance organization in Crookston.
"I'm so humbled and grateful," Gregg said upon receiving the award. "We're still working on (King's goal of equality), and we're getting better, and we're going to make it."
The remainder of the day's celebration included a service project at 2:30 p.m. at the North Country Food Bank in Crookston, an evening meditation class in Grand Forks and a presentation on King and civil rights history by notable author Taylor Branch at 7 p.m. at UMC.
Call Haley at (701) 780-1102; (800) 477-6572, ext. 1102; or send email to chaley@gfherald.com .
