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Tuesday, 1/16/01
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Tuesday, 1/16/01
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 Program honors King
By Megan Finnerty A racially diverse audience filled Loeb Playhouse Monday night, clapping and shouting as they celebrated the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. With a focus on "True Freedom," the fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Musical Celebration brought together the MLK Mass Choir, PMO Express, Jahari Dance Troupe, President Martin Jischke and the Rev. Harold Pettigrew Jr. to dance, sing and speak. The mass choir started the evening off with joyous gospel hymns as they swayed and sang, getting the audience in the mood to celebrate. The PMO Express bubbled over with glittery enthusiasm, singing several stylized songs. Two members of the Jahari Dance Troupe swayed, waved and fluttered across the stage in white leotards and full skirts. They interpreted a lullaby about King just before Tyrell Collins of the diversity organization, The Kitchen Table, introduced keynote speaker Jischke. He spoke of the accomplishments of humanity, but recognized that King’s words in 1967, "…we have not learned to live together…" are still true. "We have yet to reach the mountain top of true freedom," Jischke said. He included snippets about Lafayette and Purdue’s histories of racism and segregation, and agreed with King that although much has been done, desegregation is not enough, hearts must be changed. Jischke said education is the key to unlock the door of freedom, and he admitted that there is much Purdue must still do to create freedom of opportunity for all. "Martin Luther King Jr. day is a day to remember the past, take action for the present and make pledges for the future," he said. During the offertory held to defray the evening’s costs, gospel music rang through the Loeb Playhouse as the audience rose, clapping and singing about God’s glory and power, and it’s changing effects. In the first fast-paced hour, there were four exuberant standing ovations, and as the second hour began with a look at the African American experience through the eyes of those who lived it, the mood turned somber, but still emotional. Eighteen performers dressed as slaves mourned the death of one of the other slaves, singing out to God in the first of a series of vignettes expressing the suffering endured in the black community since the days of slavery. The program chronicled the truths of the "other America" through the "Star Spangled Banner," "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is the black national anthem and songs about Rosa Parks and the end of suffering. The evening concluded with a performance by singers Lizz and Fred Manns and a mass gathering of all the performers singing the finale. Freedom echoed as spontaneous claps and shouts punctuated all performances.
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Art class difficulty surprises students Tropical garden to offer break from cold weather Grade appeals go through numerous stages 'Save the Last Dance' lacks intensity, history Album fails to provide listeners with good music 'AntiTrust' copies plots of well-known movies
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