Friday Center hosts 40th annual MLK Jr. celebration

The MLK Jr. University Community Planning Corporation hosted their 40th annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy at the William and Ida Friday Center this Sunday.

The center is dedicated to lifelong learning, community engagement and intellectual enrichment, according to their website. 

Speakers throughout the event sustained the theme “we still dream,” emphasizing that it is critical to continue King’s legacy.

The event began with a flag presentation, followed by a musical performance by Carter Minor, a Carrboro based musician. Then, the Master of Ceremonies Bishop Hatley stated the purpose of the planning corporation’s Board of Directors.

“In 1993, this board was incorporated with expressed purposes to foster and promote coalition building among and across the diverse racial and religious communities of greater Orange County by educating the community about humanitarian issues, ideas [and the] legacy of the religious Prophet Dr. King,” Hatley said. 

Hatley continued, saying that the board also established an endowed fund that awards educational scholarships, promoting community based activities and enhancing racial and religious cooperation in Orange County.  

Throughout the event, speakers emphasized the importance of community unity, racial and religious cooperation and the legacy of King.

“His legacy reminds us that achieving real, meaningful change requires ongoing, demanding action,” Chancellor Lee Roberts said during the event. 

The audience sang the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which includes lyrics about hope and faith, including "Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us, sing a song full of hope that the present has brought us," 

Roberts provided additional remarks reflecting on King’s visit to UNC and his impact on the University’s promise of building a hospitable community for everyone.

King visited the University in May of 1960. During his visit, he spoke to an “overflowing crowd” at Hill Hall, Roberts said. King shared the speech, “The Struggle for Racial Justice.” 

Local leaders including Chapel Hill Mayor Jess Anderson and Carrboro Mayor Barbara Foushee also spoke at the event. They mentioned the importance of standing up for each other and staying committed to improving the community and world.

Donovan Livingston, current UNC teaching assistant professor and director of the University’s College Thriving program, provided the keynote address on Sunday, telling The Daily Tar Heel that it was the "honor of a lifetime."

“If Dr. King were here today, he would encourage, implore you to make sure you don’t waste your time sifting through information that is meant to knock you off track,” Livingston said in his address. 

In 2016, Livingston recited his viral speech “Lift Off”  at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education convocation, which was later deemed “powerful” by Hillary Clinton in Teen Vogue.

Livingston told The DTH that he hoped his Sunday speech would challenge the audience to think about how to respond to moments of injustice.

Delores Bailey, a member of the planning corporation’s Board of Directors, presented the Bridge Builders Award with Lillian Lee, another board member, who presented the MLK Citizenship Award.

Nevaeh Hodge, a 2024 MLK Jr./Edith Wiggins Scholarship recipient, said she attended the event because the organization’s activities are impactful for the community.

“I think it's really important to just celebrate his legacy and just continue to fight for what he believed in,” Hodge said.

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