At least 600 people gathered to bridge the gap between races and to build a connection between students and the Eugene community at the 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at the EMU Ballroom Monday night.
Musical performances, awards announcements and greetings from the University’s Vice Provost for Institutional Equity and Diversity Greg Vincent and Mayor Kitty Piercy led to the event’s keynote address, given by author and journalist Bebe Moore Campbell under the theme “Celebrating Diversity Through Shared Humanity.”
In her speech, Campbell said although times have changed and equality is stronger than in years past, challenges still exist for minorities in the United States that “plague the black community in disproportionate numbers.”
“If white children were failing in schools the way some black and brown children are,” Campbell said, “America would not allow it.”
But attending college has helped open up opportunities for minority communities, she said.
There are 305 black students at the University out of a total enrollment of 19,450, or 1.57 percent, according to the Registrar’s Office.
The event was organized by the Lane County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, but University representatives helped coordinate and plan, said Kimi Mojica, the director of Diversity Education and Support Services for the Office of Student Life. The University had not participated in the community’s celebration for the three years she has worked here, she said.
“I think it’s important to build a bridge, not only within, but outside the University to the community,” Mojica said. “Having the celebration here is a good way to … open our doors.”
The evening featured performances by the Bethel Temple Choir, the Eugene Peace Choir, the University Gospel Ensemble and others.
Gospel Ensemble keyboardist and sophomore jazz piano major Easton Stuard said it’s important that students appreciate acceptance and tolerance when celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“There’s a lot less racial prejudice going on today than there used to be, but there still is plenty,” Stuard said. “We take for granted that we get treated equally…. We have to appreciate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.”
Although minorities have more opportunities than in the past, Eugene still has work to do, Piercy told the crowd.
“It is ever important to remind ourselves of the work still to be done to assure that every one of us is treated fairly and justly, and that we live well together not in spite of racial differences but because of our human commonality,” Piercy said, adding that Oregonians “have to acknowledge our history of racism.”
“It is part of where we come from,” she said. “(It) has much to do with who we are and the challenges we face to truly make Eugene a good place for everyone to live.”