King legacy celebrated at 'audacity to believe' event

Listening to Martin Luther King Jr. speak in Seymour, Ind., as a young boy, Rep. Baron Hill, D-9th, said he didn't understand the implications of racism.\nIt wasn't until he attended Furman University in South Carolina that Hill saw racism first hand when his black roommate was denied the same opportunities as him because of the color of his skin.\n"I experienced for the first time in my life racism at its ugliest," he said.\nHill spoke as part of the "Living the Dream: The Audacity to Believe" event Monday night at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. In order to recognize the holiday as more than a day off work, hundreds gathered to recognize the work of Martin Luther King Jr.\nThe event brought together several speakers including Bloomington Mayor Mark Kruzan and William Vance Jr., president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Monroe County.\n"One thousand people participated in community service projects beginning this weekend and continuing today," Vance said.\nAfter brief comments by Kruzan, the audience was asked to stand and join both the community choir and the IU African American Choral Ensemble in singing "Lift Your Voice and Sing," the African-American national anthem.\nCharlie Nelms, vice president for Student Development and Diversity at IU, received the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award.\nNelms urged the audience to accomplish one thing that would contribute to King's dream of equality\n"My entire life was defined by race until I moved to Indiana in 1970 for graduate school," Nelms said.\nThe Bloomington Playwrights Project also performed a short play "A Different Species," focusing on the struggles of a young black girl transferring to an all-white school, at the beginning of integration in America.\nMellonee Burnim, associate professor of folklore and director of the community chorus accompanied the choir on piano, as it sprinkled readings of the history of King's work with music.\nAll speakers echoed the idea of MLK Day as a day on and not a day off.\nBob Grimm, senior counselor to CEO at the Corporation for National and Community Service, also acknowledged local efforts on the holiday.\n"Bloomington is one of the leading cities in promoting King Day as a day of service," Grimm said.