The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus community and friends, neighbors and partners from the broader region will come together for the 20th annual celebration and commemoration honoring the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 19.
UW Oshkosh will host the 20th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration in the Reeve Memorial Union ballroom from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
This year, in honor of the event’s 20th anniversary, there is no cost to participants. Registration is necessary, and participants are asked to RSVP online by Thursday, Jan. 15.
This year’s program supports King’s creed of equality for all. The celebratory event will feature a Martin Luther King Jr. Gallery Walk Through Time, including a montage of his legacy. The event will be complemented with a medley of hors d’oeuvres prior to the start of the program.
“Recognizing diversity in its many forms is a priority at UW Oshkosh. Celebrating the life and accomplishments of Dr. King serves as a reminder of the strides made over time in the area of acceptance of diversity,” said Irma Burgos, director of the Center for Academic Support and Diversity at UW Oshkosh. “From its start 20 years ago, the idea of this event was to bring our campus and area communities together in the spirit of Dr. King and pay tribute to a great man who fought for unity.”
The celebration will also spotlight several Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest winners from area K-12 schools. Individual winners will be recognized at the celebration, and the area school with the most essay entries earns a $400 award.
Students in three grade-categories were posed two questions as the basis for their essays. Students in grades 4 through 8 were asked, “If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., were to come to your school or community this week, and look around and listen, what would he say about the nature of diversity there now? What would you recommend to overcome any obstacles he might find?”
Students in grades 9 through 12 were asked to “Write a guest editorial for your local newspaper explaining what needs to change in your community in order for Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream to be realized. Focus on one thing you think should be changed and explain why and how making that change will help your community become more tolerant of differences.”
This year’s contest winners are: Quynh Nguyen-Rivers and Elise Liske, from ALPs; Jada Clark, from Carl Traeger Elementary; Allison Engstrom, Anna Gannon and Derek Pope, from Carl Traeger Middle School; and Mason Sonnenberg, Hope Williams and Pooja Dogra, from Oshkosh West High School.
For more information about the event, contact UW Oshkosh Equity and Affirmative Action at (920) 424-2296 or by email at schraderp@uwosh.edu.
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