Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Underway on A-State Campus
JONESBORO – A week of activities planned to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day began on Sunday, Jan. 15, with an annual youth program. A march/parade was held across the Arkansas State University campus on Monday, Jan. 16, to honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., celebrated every third Monday in January.
The Northeast Arkansas Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day committee saluted long-time member Ray Prunty with the honor of serving as the parade's grand marshal, citing his two decades of service to the committee.
Following the parade, which ended at the Fowler Center, guest speaker Don Arnette of Desoto, Texas, shared his presentation, “Working together is how the dream becomes reality.”
“There is an individual component to working together. And this individual component starts at the very bottom. You have to commit to being a helping hand to someone,” said Arnette.
“You have to commit to potentially being a voice of encouragement. You have to commit to potentially having the opportunity and taking advantage of the opportunity of reassuring someone else when they are in a tough situation and their times get hard. We all need somebody and in some cases we need a lot of somebodies,” he continued.
Much of his presentation, as the title suggests, was about working together and knowing that people are striving towards similar goals. “I don’t have to believe what you believe but I have to respect what you believe,” he said. This year marks 60 years since King’s “I have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C.
Also happening this week, A-State will host Alexander Heffner on Tuesday, Jan. 17, at 6 p.m. in the Reng Student Union auditorium. Heffner is the host of the PBS program “The Open Mind” and co-author of bestselling book “A Documentary History of the United States.” His lecture is titled “Civil Discourse in an Age of Incivility.”
This event is sponsored by the School of Media and Journalism, the student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Department of Political Science, Department of Communication and the Division of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement.
On Thursday, Jan. 19, at 6 p.m. Dr. Charles “Chuck” Barber will take the stage in the Student Union auditorium with his presentation, “Reimagining how we Harmonize Diversity and Meritocracy.”
Barber was recently appointed chief diversity and inclusion officer with the National Science Foundation. Previously, he served as the director of the Department of the Navy’s diversity, equity and inclusion program. He also worked in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for manpower and reserve affairs.
This event will be presented by the Office of Research and Technology Transfer in conjunction with the Division of Diversity, Inclusion and Community Engagement.
