This year’s Martin Luther King Jr. day will be celebrated with the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Wibit Swim, and Knox’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Program.
This Monday, Jan. 15, will be Martin Luther King Jr. Day. To recognize the occasion, the Galesburg community will host the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast, which will be on Jan. 20 at 7:30 a.m. in Cedar Creek Hall. (The event was going to initially happen on Jan. 15, but got delayed due to cold weather).
The Galesburg community’s Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Breakfast will showcase music and present readings from middle school students who won an essay writing contest. In addition, this year’s keynote address will be given by Knox College President C. Andrew McGadney.
Every year, The Breakfast Committee hosts a middle school essay contest in which students are provided with a prompt and encouraged to submit an essay.
This year’s essay prompt was about the 50th anniversary of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing. Specifically, students were requested to reflect on what Reverend Lowery meant with the quote: “Don’t anybody tell you these children died in vain. We wouldn’t be here right now had they not gone home before our eyes.”
The award winner contestants will read their essays to the public at the event. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children of 12 years and under.
For those who enjoy swimming, The City of Galesburg Parks and Recreation Department will be hosting a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Wibit Swim, from 1-4 p.m., at the Hawthorne Pool. The entry fee for the event is $3.
As for on-campus events, Knox’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day program will begin at 11 a.m. in Harbach Theatre in the Ford Center for Fine Arts. This year’s Convocation is themed “Shifting the Cultural Climate through the Study and Practice of Kingian Nonviolence” and it marks the 22nd anniversary of the event. Knox Service Award Winner Maurice McDavid ‘10 will be this year’s keynote speaker.
McDavid currently holds the position of principal at Turner Elementary School and serves as an assistant pastor at the United Pentecostal Church of DeKalb. He is also the founder of Culture, Identity, and Multilingual Advocacy (CIMA) of Illinois.
The class schedule on Monday, Jan. 15, was modified so all students and professors can attend the program. Furthermore, all Campus Offices will be closed from 10:45 AM to 12:00 PM to allow staff to attend.
