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Martin Luther King Jr. Day events to examine civil rights leader’s legacy
Local organizations bridging the DePauw and Greencastle Communities will come together on Monday to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Day events will take place at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church and at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at DePauw University.
The panel discussion “Taking Back King” is set for 10 a.m. at Gobin, followed by various service opportunities and then lunch at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.
The events have been co-organized by the Greencastle NAACP, Gobin and the university.
“This year’s planning process has been inclusive and collaborative, and I’ve been so happy to have community representation from (NAACP President) Russell Harvey and (Gobin minister) Rev. Bryan Langdoc,” Chelsea Naylor, DePauw coordinator of community-based learning, said. “I feel like we’re really embodying the elements Dr. King stood for in both our events and in the individuals who have planned them.”
The first event will be “Taking Back King,” which will be moderated by Harvey and featuring Neal McKinney, Joseph Harris, DePauw senior Trish John and Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright.
It will take place at Gobin UMC, where King spoke on Sept. 5, 1960.
“The panel is designed to be a deeper look into the philosophies of Dr. King. Over the years we’ve tended to kind of soften the message a little bit,” Harvey said. “People use his quotes to fit whatever their particular message is. The panel is to dive deeper into some of the philosophies — What does that look like today? What does that look like in our community?
“While we search for peace and unity, all of those messages are not always easy.”
Harvey said perhaps the most important part of the panel will come with the question-and-answer session at the end.
“That will be a great time to have community conversations and have real discussion to say, what does that say about Dr. King and how can we take that message into our community and spread that wherever we go?” Harvey said.
Following the panel, there are several service opportunities planned, including the preparation of emergency winter kits for the homeless population in the community. These will consist of food, toiletries and emergency warmth items that would be useful to the homeless.
Thereafter, the items will be stocked in the little food pantries in the community.
Finally, at 1:30 p.m. there will be a community lunch and reflection at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion with food provided by the Covered Bridge Cafe.
With the local NAACP chapter just relaunched in the fall, Harvey said he is excited to be part of the event.
“It’s really exciting that the NAACP, just being newly relaunched, is able to partner with DePauw and Gobin,” he said. “To be part of such a good event is exciting.”
Both Harvey and Naylor said they believe it will be a day to reflect on King’s legacy and what it means more than 50 years after his death.
What we’re trying to accomplish with this year’s commemoration of Dr. King and his legacy is to get participants to wrestle with the assumptions and images we have of King and interrogate what he really stood for and what he’d stand for today,” Naylor said. ”MLK Day is a good day to address the issues plaguing our community — hunger, homelessness, oppression, violence.
“We’re excited to share the day with our community and hope everyone learns and grows.”