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The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh campus and broader community will come together Monday, Jan. 18 for a celebration honoring the life, service and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration will be held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day from 4 until 6 p.m. at the UW Oshkosh Alumni Welcome and Conference Center, 625 Pearl Ave., Oshkosh.

This year’s keynote speaker is Bob Biebel, Lourdes Academy president. He will speak on America in Crisis: The Racial Divide, the theme of this year’s program.

Irma Burgos, director of student achievement services in the Division of Academic Support of Inclusive Excellence at UW Oshkosh, said the event this year will bring attention to racial tension across the nation.

“When I think of this year’s theme, I sadly reflect on the recent crisis and racial tensions across the country, and it seems to me that we are more divided than ever,” Burgos said. “This issue is spreading across groups of people in this country, and it seems that as a nation we don’t know what to do or how to fix it. There is a sense of urgency but we are at a standstill and one man, past or present, MLK or President Obama, cannot do it alone. He needs fellow Americans to engage in action-specific strategies so that America can start the healing process and move toward a better future for children of all cultures and races.”

Burgos said the MLK Community Celebration is a great opportunity to bring the campus and community together.

“We bring together many people in the community including many elementary, middle and high school children,” Burgos said. “This event is not just for people of color to come together, but rather, it’s about how can we as community come together and help each other out in celebration and honor of Dr. King’s legacy.”

The UW Oshkosh annual commemoration celebrates the King legacy by honoring members of the community with several awards.

  • The Community Service Award honors a community member who demonstrates the spirit of volunteerism and citizenship that characterized the life of King.
  • The African American Student Leadership Award was established to commemorate the anniversary of the 1968 Black Thursday protest at UW Oshkosh. This award will be given to a UW Oshkosh student who demonstrates leadership in campus activities that benefit African American students.
  • The MLK Drum Major Service Award is an annual recognition given to an individual who has demonstrated sacrificial service and leadership in promoting human dignity and achieving racial equality and harmony among the Oshkosh campus and community.

 

This year, Nicholas Hans Robinson, of Milwaukee’s Workshop Architects, will give the Black Heritage Stamp honoring educator Robert Robinson Taylor—the first known African American graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the nation’s first academically-trained black architect.

The event will also spotlight several essay contest winners from area K-12 schools.

Byron Adams, program manager of multicultural retention programs at UW Oshkosh, said the commemoration event is about remembering the sacrifices of the civil rights movement, as well as the sacrifices King made to achieve equality for the nation.

“Dr. King was about making the world a better place,” Adams said. “So having this commemoration is about keeping his legacy in mind.”

The keynote address, entertainment and hors d’oeuvres are offered free to registered guests. RSVP for the event by Jan. 13.

For more information regarding the event and/or the featured student essay contest, contact the UW Oshkosh Office of Equity and Affirmative Action at (920) 424-2296 or schraderp@uwosh.edu, or the UW Oshkosh Division of Academic Support of Inclusive Excellence at (920) 424-3080.

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