Northwest Arkansas residents, youth speak of King's influence

NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK Members of the Northwest Arkansas Dream Keepers and friends carry a banner Monday in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom March to the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Participants in the march, sponsored by the Northwest Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Council, began near the corner of Razorback Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and marched, sang and chanted to the Arkansas Union for the Martin Luther King Jr. vigil presented by the University of Arkansas Black Student Association with the Associated Student Government. The keynote speaker was Angela Mosley Monts, assistant vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at the university.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK Members of the Northwest Arkansas Dream Keepers and friends carry a banner Monday in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom March to the campus of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Participants in the march, sponsored by the Northwest Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Council, began near the corner of Razorback Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and marched, sang and chanted to the Arkansas Union for the Martin Luther King Jr. vigil presented by the University of Arkansas Black Student Association with the Associated Student Government. The keynote speaker was Angela Mosley Monts, assistant vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at the university.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Belief in justice and equality comes with a duty to do what's right, said speakers and participants of Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations in Northwest Arkansas on Monday.

Hundreds of people marched with a message of unity from the parking lot at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Razorback Road to the student union at the University of Arkansas.

Frank Johnson, former Fayetteville police chief, told the crowd seeing so many out in the 30-degree weather warmed his heart.

"When you get to my age, and you look back at the history of civil rights -- it can be sometimes a struggle," he said. "But then you look at the future, as it's represented in your faces and your enthusiasm, being here honoring Dr. King -- you feel like there's so much hope."

President Ronald Reagan signed into federal law the holiday honoring the civil rights figure. King was assassinated in 1968 at the age of 39. The holiday first took effect in 1986. All 50 states officially observed it by 2000.

Current affairs weighed on the minds of some at Monday's event. It was the 23rd annual celebration presented by the Northwest Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Council.

Quiana Key, 21, of Hope said too often people come out for an organized event, but they don't live by the principles of King in their daily lives. The work of King is not finished just because segregation ended, she said.

Key, who's studying criminal justice at the university, said she wants to work in government because those at the top are able to enact change but sometimes choose not to.

"We need to continue to break down barriers between one another," she said.

Nikolaus Harper, 21, thought of what it means to be a leader. Harper, a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity and president of the local chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, said he felt leading his generation in the right way will lessen division.

"The majority of the people out here do not look like us, so that's a good start," he said. "I believe with something like this, it starts with us first, and then from there we can only build."

The crowd packed into the student union for a vigil filled with music and words of inspiration. Angela Mosley Monts, assistant vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at the university, was keynote speaker.

The council also awarded 17 scholarships to students of Northwest Arkansas high schools and the university. The scholarships, and five Salute to Greatness awards for local individuals and organizations, were presented at the council's Recommitment Banquet.

Chimdera Nzelu, 20, was one of those scholarship recipients. Nzelu hails from Plano, Texas, but is the first-generation child of an immigrant family from Nigeria.

Nzelu said receiving the scholarship reminded her how fortunate she is. King's work and influence helped foster opportunities for people like her, she said.

Also, the value of humanity -- a core message of King's, Nzelu said -- influenced her decision to study nursing. She's set to graduate in December, and the scholarship will make that goal a lot easier, Nzelu said.

"At the root of what Dr. King fought for was the fact that people are worth it," she said. "People have their own stories, but no story is of lesser value than another story."

Benton County

The Benton County Interfaith Association also commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. at the Bentonville Community Church of Nazarene.

People watched a digitally remastered video of King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Avery Milford, 16, of Bentonville said he read and watched King's speech before and studied it in school. Milford said he had a teacher who was passionate about the speech, so those lessons were "eye-opening experiences" for him.

Milford said he was glad to have the chance to see the speech.

Donna Wilkins of Washburn, Mo., said it was a blessing to attend Monday's program.

"It was an honor to be here and listen to his speech," she said.

Wilkins said she was 8 and in the fifth grade when King was killed. She remembers her teacher crying and telling the class to run home.

The Rev. Mark Snodgrass, the pastor of Bentonville Community Church of Nazarene, said the program was meant to bring people together and could become an annual event.

Snodgrass said it is important to recognize much of King's dream has been reached, but there is more work ahead.

Terry Bankston served as host for Monday's program. Bankston said some people at the program were not here in 1963 and may have only read King's speech.

"How many of you would love to be judged by the content of your character and not worry about what comes out at the end of your sleeve," he said.

NWA Martin Luther King Jr. Council

Scholarship recipients:

Bentonville High School

• Yazmin Barajas

• Madison May

• Kennedy Pate

• Naomi Thompkins

Farmington High School

• Regan White

• Fayetteville High School

• Ryan Bowen

• Angelica Bradley

• Lauryn Durby

• Carson Hicks

Har-Ber High School

• Olivia Carter

• Caleb Seawood

Springdale High School

• Ashley McFadin

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

• Zadrian Goodwin

• Chimdera Nzelu

• Sterling Smith

• Andrew Thompkins

• Alexis Walker

Salute to Greatness Award winners:

• Henry Childress, Lifetime Achievement Award

• Phillip Masson, Ernestine White-Gibson Individual Achievement Award

• Chassidy Hurst, Rodney Momon Youth/Young Adult Award

• Frankie Wilks, Rev. J.A. Hawkins Posthumous Award

• Compassion Fayetteville, Nonprofit of the Year Award

Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Tracy Neal contributed to this story.

Source: Staff report

NW News on 01/22/2019

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