Monday marks 25 year anniversary of MLK Day

It all started with breakfast.

Martin Luther King Jr. started his day at 7 a.m. with meetings over breakfast.
In the late 1970s, a group of about 200 students, faculty and administrators at IU decided to have a similar tradition to honor King’s legacy around his birthday.

Nationally, Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday didn’t become a holiday until 1986, 18 years after King died. This year’s celebration marks the 25th anniversary of the U.S. recognizing the day as a holiday. But IU didn’t start recognizing the day and giving students and faculty the day off until the 1990s.

The idea of the breakfast caught on, said William Wiggins, a retired IU professor who attended the first breakfast. The event moved to Alumni Hall when it grew to 400 or so attendees.

The idea came about after learning that breakfast was an important meal for King because he had meetings during that time.

In the early days the group would gather in the Tudor Room in the Indiana Memorial Union and listen to speeches by students who won an essay contest about themes of King’s legacy.

Wiggins said a variety of people from the city to administrators like University Chancellor Ken Gros Louis attended the breakfast.

About 10 years after MLK Day became a holiday, it started to be tagged as a day to serve the community, not as a day off. Wiggins said groups on campus and in the city received grants to do community service projects.

Although most states recognized the holiday, it wasn’t until the 1990s that IU observed the holiday.

Associate Professor of political science Lawrence Hanks  said he wrote a proposal to have the University observe the holiday after coming to campus in 1993. He thought it was important for the campus to celebrate the day to show the University’s commitment to diversity.

“If Indiana University was going to be the university that it claimed to be, it was important for them to have a major effort to celebrate King Day,” Hanks said.

In 1995, the University observed the holiday although students still had classes. The celebrations included speakers, an essay contest and a breakfast.

Hanks said that year laid the framework for what is now King Day at IU.

In 1997, a student coalition from various backgrounds came together and had a list of demands for the IU Board of Trustees. Among the demands was the creation of the Asian Cultural Center and official observance of Martin Luther King Day.

On MLK Day in 1997, 400 students marched through the snowy campus from the Showalter Fountain to the Sample Gates demanding greater diversity. One of the goals of the march was to have the University recognize MLK Day, according to an Indiana Daily Student article from Jan. 22, 2002.

Doug Bauder, the coordinator of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Student Support Services, said the group’s efforts demonstrate what students can accomplish on campus.

“Students have more power than they realize,” said Bauder, who supports the students’ efforts.

The coalition consisted of a wide range of students. One of the reasons why the group was successful in getting the University to meet their demands is because the various groups listened to each other and saw that they all had important needs, Bauder said.

“We hoped we would really have an impact, that people were actually feeling what we were doing and that we weren’t alone in our frustration and desire to have things change,” Lisa Pintado-Vertnern said in an IDS article published Jan. 22, 2002.

Before the student coalition, Bauder said there were events to recognize and remember King’s legacy. But students wanted a more organized, University-wide effort.

“That was what was the most frustrating for the students,” he said.

But Hanks said the University did recognize the holiday and had events prior to the protest.

The protest sparked the attention of the campus and administrators. That year the Board of Trustees approved the University-wide observation of the day, which meant students and faculty would get the day off.

In 1998, IU observed MLK Day for the first time, according to the University’s website. Hanks said the funding for celebrations increased after the protest.

Bauder said he credits the students for having the trustees approve the day as a University-wide holiday.

“This wouldn’t be happening if students didn’t demand it,” he said. “Students need to recognize the influence they have on a college campus.”

Hanks said he didn’t agree with giving students and faculty the day off because King was a scholar and wouldn’t want students to take a day off.

A celebration committee was created, which still exists today, to plan events for the weekend. Today celebrations include a Unity Summit that brings together students from various organizations to talk about how to improve diversity on campus, an interfaith prayer, a civil rights immersion trip and a keynote speaker.

The breakfast continues to be an IU tradition that reflects on King’s legacy.

“We are still trying to do his work and promote nonviolence,” Wiggins said.

Bauder said about 1,000 students participate in the weekend celebrations each year. Although that is a small percentage of the student body, he said the students who participate benefit greatly.

Some of the students who participate in the volunteer activities continue to volunteer with the centers or the opportunities turn into internships.

Still, Kathy Smith, chairwoman of this year’s committee, said students today are tempted to see the holiday as another day off from school but shouldn’t.

“It’s more than just an occasion to honor King,” she said. “It represents a day not just to remember but also to get involved in the community.”