Central College honors Martin Luther King Jr. Day with service and arts events Jan. 19. Gateway Dance Theatre of Des Moines will lead an 11 a.m. performance in Cox-Snow Recital Hall. Then students, faculty and staff will assemble water sanitation kits from 12–2 p.m.in Maytag Student Center. Guests are welcome at both events.
“Let justice roll down like waters” (Amos 5:24) provides the theme for Central’s celebrations. Gateway Dance Theatre will perform “Water is Life,” an interpretive dance and spoken word program. Likewise, Central’s service project focuses on justice for communities with water crises.
Central College was one of 40 U.S. colleges and universities awarded a grant as part of the MLK Day of Service Community Partnership Project this year. Central’s grant, awarded by Iowa Campus Compact (IACC), will provide the water sanitation kits to be assembled on campus and distributed internationally by Safe Water International Ministries (SWIM). Each kit can serve 2,000 people per day in areas without access to clean drinking water.
Martin Luther King Jr. shakes hands with audience members after speaking at Central College 50 years ago.
The purpose of the MLK Day Community Partnership Project is to mobilize college students, community members and community organizations to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day not as a “day off” but a “day on.” Central’s MLK Day activities are sponsored by student development, intercultural educators, sustainability education and community-based learning.
This year, Central also marks the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech at Central College. On March 22, 1967, King urged more than 1,300 listeners overflowing from Central’s gymnasium to believe that positive change — and progress toward social equality — can occur through courageous individuals. Central will celebrate this anniversary on March 22.
