Panel discussion, kids activities focus of MLK Day

Jan. 15—The life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were on the minds of many in Terre Haute on Monday, the holiday named in his honor. The day was highlighted by a panel discussion before a near-capacity audience at the Vigo County Historical Center Auditorium.

Initially, discussion was inspired by a King quote: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?'" But it soon turned to another question offered by Terre Haute Mayor Brandon Sakbun: "Would Martin Luther King be proud of Terre Haute and what advice would he give it?"

The Terre Haute Human Relations Commission and the Greater Terre Haute Branch of the NAACP hosted the Vigo County History Center event. Panelists included St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Terry Clark, retired Indiana State University history professor Gary Daily, ISU Osher Lifelong Learning Institute professor Dr. Ann D'Orazio, ISU Educational Leadership chair Dr. Mary Howard-Hamilton and Sakbun.

In introductory remarks, Sakbun promised "a hard conversation about all the hard work we're here to do" in the ongoing fight for equality. He later answered his own question of what advice the civil-rights icon would give Terre Haute — by challenging its leaders to do a better job in developing housing and transportation for struggling citizens.

Sylvester Edwards, President of the Greater Terre Haute NAACP Branch, told the audience, "It's not a day to take off — it's a day for action."

Howard-Hamilton said that King was "woke" and discussed Critical Race Theory, long before either of those terms existed. Clark recalled that King took two books with him wherever he traveled — the Bible and "Jesus and the Disinherited," a book by Howard Thurman that posits the gospel as a manual of resistance for the poor and disenfranchised. He added that King called racists "our sick brothers."

Daily gave a shout-out to Charlie Brown, who directed and pioneered programming for ISU's African-American Cultural Center. Brown received a standing ovation.

Sakbun championed the idea of "making (pondering King's legacy) a continual conversation, not just an annual conversation."

Anne-Therese Ryan, director of the Human Relations Commission, explained how Monday's event came together.

"Historically, the Human Relations Commission has partnered with the Greater Terre Haute NAACP Branch, and I was eager to reignite that partnership and see what we could put together," she said.

Ryan, Sylvester Edwards, the local president of the NAACP, and Suzy Quick, Vigo County History Center's curator (and official Vigo County historian) planned the project and selected the panelists. Quick also moderated the panel discussion.

"We thought about bringing together a diverse group of individuals who could speak about the legacy of Dr. King and what we can learn from that and bring to our community," Ryan said. "We looked for people with history backgrounds and community involvement to bring a well-rounded message."

She added, "When we are celebrating the Dr. King holiday, we often think about it as a day off. We can really reframe that as a way to think about how we can bring his values and message into our community. We don't want the day to be one day and we leave it there; we want to continue his legacy and so through this panel, we'll hopefully inspire some new individuals to bring his legacy into his work for what they do in the community."

Ryan herself decidedly did not have the day off — she helped create multiple projects for the holiday, and spent the afternoon at the Boys and Girls Club.

"We had programming that was geared toward service for others," she said, which included reading a book about King that featured many of his famous quotes, followed by an art project in which students picked a quote that inspired them and created a collage on that theme. To expand on the day's service-oriented theme, participants then made blankets for the homeless, dog toys for the Humane Society, cards for hospitalized children and vases for a local nursing home.

Sakbun professed to being impressed by Ryan's work at the Boys and Girls Club, where she was accompanied by 12 ISU students and two faculty members.

Seeing the kids make items to help others "almost brought a tear to my eye," he said.

Earlier in the day, the Terre Haute Children's Museum hosted an event — also sponsored by the Human Relations Commission — which began on Saturday during which children could honor King by drawing and coloring pictures and building mobiles of the venerated preacher, watch his "I have a dream" speech and make quilt squares for a quilt that Ryan will display in City Hall. Ryan also supplied King trivia questions that were hanging on the walls.

"We were going to have readings, but we didn't have anyone sit long enough," Program Manager Laurel Tincher said with a laugh. "Kids are ready to run."

Tincher pointed out a few of her favorite quilt squares, including one that read, "Martin, Martin, Martin, Martin." Another beseeched, "May all beings be happy. May all beings be free from suffering. Free at last."

At mid-afternoon Monday, about 40 kids had participated in the event.

"I was surprised — today's actually been more active than Saturday was, even though I thought Saturday's weather was better," Tincher said. "We've had a lot more activity today."

April Coffman and her daughters Rhea and Delanie contributed to the quilt destined for City Hall, and traced images of King and watched the video.

"They were learning history on their day off," April said. "I was happy to see they had activities."

"He wanted peace, and he wanted White and Black to be together," Rhea said of King, adding that it was worth braving the cold to visit the museum.

"I'm glad they get to realize why they had today off," April said. "It's not just for nothing. It's to honor Martin Luther King."

Ryan said she hopes to continue partnering with NAACP and History Center on future projects highlighting other civil-rights champions like King as well as unsung heroes.

David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.