Martin Luther King Day events planned in Conway
CONWAY — Shelia Whitmore, a Conway city councilwoman, said she will touch on “national and local issues” in her remarks Friday at the University of Central Arkansas breakfast to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The breakfast, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 8 a.m. in the UCA Student Center Ballroom. The program will begin at 9 a.m.
“I have gone to the breakfast before, but in the capacity of observing,” Whitmore said.
Angela Jackson, UCA associate dean/director of the Office of Diversity and Community, said the event’s theme is “Taking Pride in the Dream.”
Jackson said Whitmore “is going to tailor her words of encouragement around that theme.”
Whitmore said last week that she had considered speaking some about the events happening nationally with the police and black residents, as well as “black-on-black crime” and the terror associated with ISIS.
“I think it’s important to send a message to the African-American population about the things [King] stood for, which was nonviolence,” Whitmore said.
Whitmore, who is human resources coordinator at Counseling Associates Inc., said she is in community service because of King’s legacy.
Whitmore said her speech might have humor, too, because Jackson told her she wasn’t her first choice to speak at the breakfast.
“Her first choice was Michelle Obama,” Whitmore said, laughing.
Jackson said entertainment will be provided by UCA student Courtney Glass, who will perform a lyrical dance; and Autume Brunswick, 2015 UCA Miss Black and Gold, and Bijoux Pighee of Little Rock, who will give vocal performances. The breakfast has been an annual event at UCA for several years, Jackson said.
Whitmore said she has also been a longtime participant in what she called “the mayor’s march” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
She said her employer does not observe the MLK holiday, so she takes a vacation day each year to participate in the march.
The 17th annual Unity March will start at 9 a.m. Monday at the Faulkner County Library, 1900 Tyler St., where participants will gather. Shuttles will begin at 9 a.m. to take people to City Hall, 1201 Oak St., next to Simon Park in downtown Conway. The march will begin at 10 a.m., and participants will walk back to the library. The theme is “Unite to Fulfill the Dream.” A program will begin at 11 inside the library.
Jeff Moncrease of Conway founded the march with his wife, Jacqueline, in 1999 through A Piece of the Dream King Team. They are no longer associated with that organization, he said. About seven years ago, they co-founded the Political, Economic and Social Empowerment Coalition Network, referred to as the PESE Coalition Network. A “concept-based initiative,” Moncrease said, its goal is to get people involved in the community, “not just in the fun things.”
Moncrease said the speakers for the program held after the march aren’t publicized so the emphasis can be on the event, not personalities. However, he said, two “young people,” college students, will speak at Monday’s program at the library. “They’ll bring a youth perspective,” he said.
He said the focus of his coalition network is on a youth ambassador program, “to start talking about nonviolent conflict resolutions.” He said youth ambassadors are being selected.
“The whole idea is to effect change,” he said.