Six years ago, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was just another day on the academic calendar for Northwestern students.
The university didn’t officially observe King’s birthday. But in 2000 the university changed its policy and began suspending classes from 11a.m. to 2 p.m. on the national holiday.
Now NU sponsors numerous speakers and events to commemorate one of the key “shakers and movers” in the Civil Rights Movement. Speakers this year included: Johnetta Cole, former president of Spellman College; Angelo Henderson, Pulitzer Prize winner and associate editor of Real Times Newspapers; Roland Martin, executive editor of the Chicago Defender; and Yolanda King, actress and eldest daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
“The three hours (suspension) was in response to students who wanted to have a whole day off,” said Stephen Fisher, associate provost for undergraduate education.
Fisher added that before the university observed the national holiday on a larger scale, historically black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha had been holding candlelight vigils for many years.
“The candlelight vigil predates the school’s observance,” said Carretta Cooke, executive director for Multicultural Student Affairs. “Alpha Phi Alpha has been doing this for 26 years.”
The events for the MLK Day celebration began with the candlelight vigil on Jan. 13 at the Alice Millar Chapel and will close with a remembrance celebration Thursday in the Chapel of the Unnamed Faithful at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary.
In past years, NU has welcomed notable civil rights activists to campus to celebrate King’s life work, including the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr., Princeton professor Cornel West, and last year actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith.
This year King’s eldest daughter delivered the keynote address at NU.
“(We) felt it was time to get someone who was a part of Dr. King, Jr.’s life,” said Cooke, who has served on the committee that organizes MLK Day events for two years. She said the speakers improve each year “because of the different ways the message is delivered.”
Next year Kweisi Mfume, outgoing president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, will be the keynote speaker, Fisher said.
The university also chose to commemorate King’s birthday through acts of service.
The Eva Jefferson Patterson mentorship program — named after NU’s first black student body president — allowed local Evanston youths to spend the holiday with NU students. Participants ended the day by attending a panel discussion led by NU professors, who discussed King’s legacy.
While some students celebrate the national holiday by attending scheduled events on campus or participating in community involvement, others take time to reflect on the personal significance of the holiday.
“Just living through that time (in the ’50s and ’60s) in this country’s history, the cause (King) was promoting was really a message we need to hear today, ” said the Rev. Timothy Stevens, university chaplain.
Reach Christie Ileto at [email protected].
