Bloomington celebrates MLK birthday at Buskirk-Chumley

A weekend of volunteering in the Bloomington community culminated in the “Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration” at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater on Monday
evening.

Slideshow pictures of protestors advocating universal health care, rights for illegal immigrants and migrant workers and gender and sexual equality filled the screen to remind the audience of Dr. King’s lifelong fight for justice and equality.

“To achieve the blessed community King valued, we must value our neighbor and look for the good rather than the bad,” said William Vance Jr., chairman of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission.

Monroe County Commissioner Iris Kiesling reiterated the importance of serving the community to honor Dr. King’s legacy.

“Throughout the past few days and today, many of you, young and old, have been engaged in service projects,” Kiesling said. “What better way to influence our community and our neighbors?”

This year, Bloomington’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission awarded a record-breaking $22,000 in grant money to carry out Martin Luther King Jr. Day volunteer projects in the community.

The theme of the 25th annual celebration of Dr. King’s birthday was “Nurturing Our Youth for Tomorrow.”

Three students especially benefitted from this year’s theme when they received scholarships from the UPDRAFT Supplemental Scholarship Program. All of the recipients are members of the 21st Century Scholars program who have demonstrated financial need and the drive to succeed in order to give back.

“These children need a warm wind beneath their wings,” said Jerahn Kemp III, a program founder . “We believe we can change the world one day at a time.”

Mayor Mark Kruzan took the stage to give the winner of the 2011 Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award to Daniel Soto, a Bloomington resident and staff member of Bloomington’s Family Community Resource Center.

Soto, an immigrant from San Jose, Costa Rica, is a member of Amnesty International and has represented the organization at the United Nations. He is an international lecturer on diversity and the founder and director of Bloomington’s Spanish Conversation Club. Soto was not present to accept the award but addressed the crowd via video.

“We are responsible for reaching out to everyone regardless of race, gender or nationality,” Soto said.

IU Provost and Executive Vice President Karen Hanson addressed the recent racial and ethnic incidents on campus, including vandalism at two Bloomington Jewish organizations and the use of racial epithets.

“In response to recent incidents of intoleration, our students and faculty have stood together to say racism has no place here,” Hanson said.

Hanson went on to state the importance of following Dr. King’s legacy, not just for students but for all people.

“It is our hope as we nurture our youth for tomorrow at Indiana University they will heed this call to fight for justice,” Hanson said. “It’s a spirit that can transform our campus, our community, our nation and our world.”

Hanson said she hopes IU students will use Dr. King’s message as an inspiration.

“We can point to no finer example for our students to follow than the man whose legacy we celebrate today,” Hanson said.