Emporia State University’s Intercultural Center culminated its weeklong celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Thursday night.
The center hosted its now annual MLK dinner which welcomes students and staff of ESU as well as residents from the Emporia community to the ESU Memorial Union. The dinner is meant to serve as a time of reflection on the work of Dr. King while also providing individuals an opportunity to connect with and better get to know one another.
ESU BRIDGE and Intercultural Center Coordinator Percy Holt notes connecting individuals from all walks of life was one of the many things Dr. King was known for making the dinner a perfect event to commemorate his memory.
In addition to Thursday’s dinner, the Intercultural Center also hosted a day of service at the Memorial Union Wednesday. Holt explained that service was all about providing positivity, encouragement and affirmation to those in need of it.
For the past few years now, the Intercultural Center has been hard at work increasing activities connected to MLK and MLK Day. Holt says a big reason for the push in an extended celebration on campus has to do with the fact that Dr. King did not limit his work to a single day and neither should the rest of us.
2025 marks 42 years since MLK Day was signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, 15 years after Dr. King was assassinated. The holiday was officially designated as a national day of service by Congress in 1994 and has been recognized by all 50 states since 2000.