Martin Luther King Jr. Day inspires tributes

Exponent File Photo GET DOWN: The dancers from the Black Cultural Center will perform Monday at the Tippecanoe County Library as part of a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

By Sarah Szczepanski
Senior Writer

He lived through a time of racial inequality, civil unrest, riots and police brutality, but Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who didn’t believe in violence.

His dream for equality was campaigned peacefully, and that is what Purdue student Erica Walker and millions of other people consider to be what made the man so different and important.

The first Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established in 1986 and Walker, a senior in the School of Liberal Arts, said that day is an important one for people to remember the man who did so much for the civil rights movement.

"It's important to recognize, celebrate and understand what it was that they were fighting for and what they still are fighting for in some instances," she said.

For Midori Angevine, a senior in the School of Consumer and Family Sciences, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is important because it is the birthday of an extraordinary man who changed the future.

"He broke the segregated bonds that were between us all so that myself and everyone else could live and love every day," said Angevine.

Walker and Angevine are members of performance groups from the Black Cultural Center who will perform at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Tippecanoe County Public Library in a tribute to King.

Walker, student coordinator for the Haraka Writers, said she and other members of her group will try to express King's impact.

"Every writer comes at it from a different angle, such as the Civil Rights Act of '64 or the March on Washington," said Walker, who is considering performing something about the overall civil rights struggle to show her appreciation of the day.

Angevine, student coordinator for the Jahari Dance Troupe — another one of the BCC groups performing at the library — said the troupe will perform a song titled "Summer Rain."

Carol Stults, assistant head youth librarian, encourages students to attend.

"It's a wonderful way to celebrate the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; he was an important man who did many wonderful things, and I think students should take advantage of their day off and attend," Stults said.

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