SU hosts activities celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

The late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be honored at Southern University with a birthday celebration in the Royal Cotillion Ballroom on Monday, Jan. 21, at 6 p.m.
“It is vitally important for students to attend this event so they know the struggles freedom riders like Dr. King went through; because if it were not for him, the gains we have made today would not be possible,” said William Turner, a history professor.
The event titled “Keeping the Dream Alive: A celebration in Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” will begin with a candlelight vigil in front of Lake Kernan on Roosevelt Steptoe Drive and end at the Smith-Brown Memorial Student Union.
“Many young people today do not understand that they are standing on the shoulders of a great man and have opportunities available to them because of the sacrifices Dr. King made before them,” said Turner.
Immediately after the vigil, Southern graduate Reverend Errol K. Domingue will deliver a message honoring Dr. King in the Royal Cotillion Ballroom.
Activities honoring Dr. King will continue Tuesday, Jan. 22. At 6:30 p.m. the “2008 MLK Celebration” will take place in the Cotillion Ballroom.
Students not only from Southern, but also LSU and Baton Rouge Community College will hold discussions focusing on building bridges across racial, religious and political lines to honor the life of Dr. King.
“I am looking forward to the Martin Luther King activities, because I think they will help the students get a better understanding of their history and appreciate Dr. King and civil rights leaders like him even more,” said freshman Samantha McClendon, a mass communications major from Washington, D.C.