Forty-eight years after Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, Syracuse University will continue to honor King at its 26th annual celebration in the Carrier Dome.

‘The goal is to keep the memory of Martin Luther King alive,’ said Ginny Yerdon, administrative assistant and special events coordinator at Hendricks Chapel. ‘I think it’s important to remember his accomplishments and be focused on how we can be better people.’

SU’s celebration on Sunday at 5 p.m. is one of the largest university-sponsored events in the country. Yerdon said 2,155 of the available 2,180 tickets for the dinner have already been purchased. Tickets for the dinner cost $25, but the program following the meal is free and open to the public at 6:30 p.m.

A 20-member committee, comprised of students, staff, faculty and community members, has been working on the event since March. This year’s theme is ‘Heirs of a King: Remembering and Continuing the Work of Global Legacy.’ 

‘A lot of planning goes into organizing the dinner and program,’ Yerdon said. ‘There are numerous committees, and it is a lot of work, but I think it brings a lot of people together.  People like the event and are proud to work on it.’

Theresa Jenkins, a financial aid counselor at SU, will serve as this year’s celebration chair. Jenkins, who comes from an African-American family, said she still remembers the pain people felt when King was murdered.

‘I remember my parents crying,’ she said. ‘Only later did I realize why everyone was so distraught and what he meant to them. But as long as we continue to do this, he’s alive through his sister, and he’s alive through us.’

Jenkins said the dinner will consist of traditional African-American foods, such as corn bread, barbecued pork ribs, fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, baked macaroni and cheese, banana pudding and sweet potato pie. Vegetarian and kosher food alternatives will also be available.

The program following the meal will include the presentation of the 2011 Unsung Hero Awards, as well as performances from the brothers of King’s Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the Black Celestial Choral Ensemble, the Underground Poets and the Creative Arts Academy, among others.

Keynote speaker Kirt Wilson, an associate professor of communication arts and sciences at Pennsylvania State University and an African-American scholar, will discuss what it means to be an heir of King and continue his legacy. Sign language interpreters will be present for the first time.

Roxane West, a sophomore sociology major, said she plans to attend the dinner and hopes to learn how to better serve the Syracuse community and the world.

‘It should be really interesting and a lot of fun,’ she said. ‘I’m really excited to hear the guest speaker, and I encourage everyone to attend. If this dinner can inspire us to advocate for social justice and change, the world will be a better place.’

For Jenkins, the celebration chair, this will be her fifth King dinner, and many of her family and friends have attended the celebration.

‘Martin Luther King made a major impact on our country,’ Jenkins said. ‘It’s important that we commemorate him. It’s important for us to remember and to remind our children where they come from and how the world has changed from the ’50s and ’60s to the 2000s.’

afkrenge@syr.edu

Published on January 18, 2011 at 12:00 pm