Jack_Lambert
The spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was felt throughout the CWU campus last week as attendees gathered together to honor the late civil rights leader. Community members, faculty and students hosted events, such as the 8th MLK March and Remembrance Program.

King’s passion, vision and relentless belief in equality were reflected through the words of the performers during the MLK Celebration & Tribute in the SURC Theatre last Thursday.

Although Reverend King studied the poetics of the bible and of governmental legislature, he was also a poet and performer. He used his unequivocal literacy and political knowledge to write speeches that would powerfully change the status quo for the meaning of freedom.

“We can now sit on the same buses. We can eat at the same table. We can play together,” Ricardo, a fourth grader from Mount Stuart Elementary penned these words to Dr. King to describe the changes he now sees as a result of King’s legacy.

The Center for Leadership and Community Engagement (CLCE), along with roughly 100 student volunteers, hosted Ricardo and his classmates from Mount Stuart for the “MLK: Make a Difference Day”. Organized by Program Leader Jillian Sauve, the event began with a video montage of King’s famous speeches.

Jamese Johnson, program manager and diversity officer for the Center for Diversity & Social Justice (CDSJ) then asked the students about King’s life and his mission as a civil rights activist.

“Dr. King was originally named Michael. So how did he become Martin Luther?” Johnson asked.

The students learned that, while visiting Germany, that Dr. King’s father became heavily inspired by Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, which then led the reverend to change both his and his son’s name. The discussion was followed by a series of activities in the SURC Ballroom, designed to “promote diversity and social awareness,” according to Sauve.

“We’re talking to the kids about stereotypes. We’re writing stereotypes on balloons and having the kids pop them, so they can get rid of them,” Sauve said.

One activity that challenged the students involved writing a  letter to Dr. King. Sauve asked her volunteers to help the students consider what has changed in our society following Dr. King’s death. When given the prompt, however, one group of students began engaging in a roundtable discussion that was very energetic and full of curiosity.

They discussed the influence that people of color have had in the media, citing universalized celebrities—such as Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan—and they agreed that money affects what people can and can’t have, making some less fortunate than others. The students finished the event by decorating posters with signatures and phrases to honor King and his vision of equality.

As a program leader, Sauve began prepping for the event at the end of fall quarter and continued working over winter break, spending over 50 hours preparing crafts, emailing parents, meeting with teachers and writing out directions for volunteers.

“Over the past few years, I’ve worked all through break to get this put together,” Sauve said.

The extent of her efforts in organizing the program are reminiscent of Dr. King himself, who so famously said “the time is always right to do what is right.” While Sauve sacrificed much of her winter break, she was well-assisted by a large team of volunteers–many of which are Education majors.

“We sent out an email to Education majors [to volunteer]. It’s a great opportunity for community outreach,” Sauve said.

Being an Elementary Education major herself, Sauve sees the event as an opportunity to give CWU Education majors some volunteer experience. Her assistants comprised of students from a variety of education-based majors, including History and Family & Consumer Science.

As the Celebration & Tribute concluded, the Peace March began in the SURC Pit and the role of the CWU community in the conversation of equality became apparently clear.

The CLCE and CWU communities have set a framework for how to best continue the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Through education, demonstration and performance, the spirit of Dr. King continues to inspire the future.

Martin Luther King Jr. had many titles along with being the most influential voice of the civil rights era. He was a doctor, minister, father, brother and friend; but above all he was a human being.

Hiko Addison, senior Performance  Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) at CWU, took on the role of Dr. King in an adaption of Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop, a fictional dialogue that explores the human aspect of Dr. King.

Addison wanted his performance to inspire Dr. King’s continuing legacy.

“Anyone can pick up this baton. The road to the promise land is not easy and fast, but we all have a part in getting to it,” Addison said.

The written character of Dr. King relishes in the mystery of seduction. The dynamic of King’s personality challenged Addison to grow as an actor. He studied the history of Dr. King’s relationships as a way to become psychologically invested in the role.

“I was afraid of what people were going to say about that,” Addison said in reference to lines indicating views on sexuality and gender equality for the given time period. “It took a lot of courage. No American theatre would take on this play originally.”

In his vocal performance, Addison experimented with using the Southern accent of the script along with his own speech patterns, which made for a unique performance.

Addison feels that with more time, the crew could continue making new discoveries and character choices. While CWU theatre members had a speedy turnaround between production and performance, Addison is satisfied with his opportunity to add a diverse representation to the catalogue of CWU performances. “This is the third African-American play to be produced at CWU,” Addison said.

Risk-taking was a major theme in Addison’s preparation, rehearsal and performance of Dr. King in The Mountaintop. “The real gift is to know that his last few moments were happy,” Addison said.