Published: January 18, 2008 11:14 pm         

Opportunities to honor MLK abound in Wabash Valley

TERRE HAUTE — College students will volunteer at community agencies, while several middle- and high-school students will attend a youth summit.

Vigo County students and residents will have many opportunities to honor Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, when several programs and activities are scheduled.

For the second year in a row, Indiana State University’s Center for Public Service and Community Engagement will sponsor a “Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service” to benefit community agencies.

The event — described as a “a day on, not a day off” — is co-sponsored by St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, Ivy Tech Community College and Indiana Business College.

So far, 140 college students and staff have volunteered to provide services at more than a dozen community agencies.

The program honors King, and “It’s a great way to give back to our own community,” said Crystal Brown, an ISU graduate student who is helping coordinate the event.

Volunteers will meet at noon in ISU’s Hulman Memorial Student Union, Dede III, for a kickoff and luncheon. From there, volunteers will be matched with an agency, where they will serve until 5 p.m.

Some of the agencies to be served include Ryves Youth Center; Terre Haute Children’s Museum; Wabash Valley American Red Cross; and West Vigo Community Center.

Meanwhile, Vigo County School Corp. students have an opportunity to attend the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Youth Summit, titled, “I Choose Education over Incarceration.”

The summit will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Booker T. Washington Community Center. The event is open to all Vigo County middle- and high-school students.

The program will consist of an opening play, interactive workshops and a lunch with nationally known speaker Kwesi Ronald E. Harris.

“We’re trying to provide students with information and motivational things that might encourage them to further their education versus getting involved in the juvenile justice system, said Jeff Lorick, chairman of the Terre Haute Human Relations Commission, which is sponsoring the summit in conjunction with the school district and Vigo County community groups.

The 14th and Chestnut Community Center will conduct a program featuring students and staff at 6:30 p.m.

Children at the center will do music and readings, while the NAACP Youth Council will stage a drama. Middle- and high-school students will perform a dance.

Jeanie Winston, the center’s office assistant, will provide a reflection on the life of Martin Luther King Jr.

The program is free and open to the public. Appetizers will be served from 6 to 6:30 p.m., while cake and punch will be provided after the program.

“Come and celebrate the life of Dr. King, whose message is still alive today,” Winston said. The center serves about 70 to 80 children in grades K-12.

In other events:

• Ivy Tech Community College will host its annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at the south campus, 8000 South Education Drive.

The breakfast will be conducted in E100, with the program beginning at 8:10 a.m. in the Oakley Auditorium.

The program will honor the late City Councilman Chuck Miles and the late Congresswoman Julia Carson. Keynote speakers will include Cliff Lambert, executive director, Terre Haute Department of Redevelopment; Trent Miles, head football coach, Indiana State University; and Vern Tincher, state representative.

Other Monday events:

• At the Vigo County Public Library, Mary Moody will discuss the life of the civil rights leader in a program titled, “Martin Luther King: Extraordinary Vision — Ordinary Man.” The program will be from 12:10 to 12:50 p.m. at the main library.

• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has several events planned as part of its weeklong celebration honoring King.

On Monday, Rose-Hulman alumnus Robert Wilkins, a Washington, D.C.-based litigation attorney, will speak from 11:05 a.m. to noon at the Hatfield Hall Theater as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation. His talk is free and open to the public.

Wilkins specializes in white collar, technology and commercial litigation corporate defense, and he is a partner with the Venable LLP law firm, one of The American Lawyer’s Top 100 firms. He was named to Washingtonian Magazine’s 2007 list of the D.C. area’s top attorneys and has been selected one of the “40 under 40 most successful young litigators in America” by The National Law Journal.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Rose-Hulman in 1986 and added a law degree from Harvard.

Wilkins played a key role in the passage of legislation that authorized the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture to be located on or adjacent to the National Mall as a part of the Smithsonian.

On Tuesday, Taiwan Brown, a Texas Instruments diversity consultant, will be the second Rose-Hulman guest speaker from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in Room M-137 of Myers Hall. Brown is a leadership development consultant for Texas Instruments.

While at Rose-Hulman, Brown will meet with leaders of Rose-Hulman minority student organizations and other campus groups at a special dinner.

Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.