For the first time, Ball State is partnering with the the city of Muncie to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday by bringing more community events to campus.
The theme for Martin Luther King Jr. week will be "Coming Together -- 40 years: A Work in Progress."
Derick Virgil, director of Ball State's Multicultural Center, said the collaboration between Ball State and Muncie indicates the commitment both communities are making to promote unity during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
"Ball State and Muncie are combining the facilities of campus with the entities and public associations of the community," he said. "They are joining forces to create something great."
Terry Whitt Bailey, director of executive staff and administrative affairs, said she is looking forward to the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration and is glad the university is teaming up with the city to honor one of the nation's key civil rights leaders.
Ball State is playing an active role in promoting diversity, she said.
"It's a clear signal that the university is committed to the students and that the community is wanting us to interact," Bailey said.
In the past, the Ball State and Muncie communities often held separate events to celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, Virgil said. While both communities would provide each other with invitations to their events, they still functioned as separate entities, he said.
As a result, many Ball State students would not participate in the events held in the Muncie community.
"In the past two years, we haven't had much luck in getting Ball State students to come out to events held in Muncie," Virgil said. "By bringing more community events to campus, we will provide students with the opportunity to experience diversity and to share their support of the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."
One of the key community events being brought to campus will be a presentation on Tuesday by sisters Linda Brown Thompson and Cheryl Brown Henderson, both of whom were key figures in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education court case decision. The sisters will speak in Emens Auditorium at 7 p.m.
Virgil said the daughters of the late Rev. Oliver Brown will discuss their family's involvement in the Brown court case, which overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine established in the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson case. This May marks the 50th anniversary of the Brown verdict.
Virgil said he encourages students to attend the event so as to gain a greater appreciation of the milestones blacks faced in the mid-20th century.
"It's a phenomenal opportunity to meet people who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement," he said. "It will give students the opportunity to meet history head on."
Virgil said other Martin Luther King Jr. day events, held in the past at First Merchants Bank and Muncie Central High School, will be held Monday in Ball State's L.A. Pittenger Student Center. Virgil said this arrangement resulted from collaboration between Ball State's Black Student Association, the City of Muncie Dream Team and Muncie's Collective Coalition of Concerned Clergy.
In addition to a Martin Luther King Jr. Day breakfast and President Blaine Brownell's farewell speech to the community, youth workshops will be held to address issues such as drugs and alcohol, racism and abstinence. Other workshops will be provided for Ball State students and adults as well as for elementary and preschool students.
Virgil said by holding such events on campus, Ball State students should be able to participate more easily in the Martin Luther King Jr. celebration. Students in the Muncie community will in turn have an opportunity to visit the Ball State campus, he said.
"It supports the youth in a dynamic way," he said.
While many community activities will be brought to campus Monday, Virgil said he still encourages Ball state students to attend events that will be held in the Muncie community. Because the MITS bus will provide free rides from campus Monday, students should take the time to participate in the city's events, he said.
Muncie's Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will include a 6:30 p.m. march from City Hall to Christ Temple Church.
The church will then hold a program at 7 p.m. featuring Pastor Jeremiah Wright of Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ. Wright was recently ranked second in Ebony magazine's list of the 15 greatest black preachers, Virgil said.
Muncie Mayor Dan Canan said he plans to attend both events as well as activities that will be held on the Ball State campus.
He said he is proud of the collaboration between the Ball State and Muncie communities and hopes it will continue to grow in future years.
"Hopefully it will be the start of greater things," Canan said.
Morenike Aderiye, president of Ball State's Black Student Association, said she is excited about seeing the Ball State and Muncie communities team up on Monday and hopes students of all races come out to celebrate.
Martin Luther King Jr. day is one of the most important holidays for the community to celebrate together, she said.
"Martin Luther King stood for unity and everyone coming together to accomplish a common goal," Aderiye said. "Ball State and Muncie's collaboration is definitely a step (toward this), and it can only get better."
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