UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A record crowd packed the floor of the Bryce Jordan Center on the evening of Jan. 15 to honor civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy at the 44th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet, sponsored by Penn State's Forum on Black Affairs (FOBA).
Planners decided to move this year’s event — held on King’s birthday — to the BJC to accommodate the growing numbers of people who wanted to attend. More than 1,000 people attended, about 300 more than last year’s event held in the Penn Stater Conference Center.
The theme for this year's banquet, which recognized members of the community who make a difference through King’s belief of advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, was "Where Do We Go From Here: A Tradition of Resistance."
“This year’s theme challenges us to think of the change needed in our communities and how we each play a critical role in addressing the fight against injustice,” said FOBA President Stephanie Danette Preston in her remarks. “At a conference I attended many years ago … the speaker challenged listeners to decide where we each stood in the fight for injustice and inequality. She kept coming back to the same question: Are you going to be a movement or a monument? She went on to explain that monuments, while sturdy, are built for the moment … whereas a movement is an act of change … or a group of people working together to advance a shared political, social or artistic idea.
“It’s time for each of us to decide: Movement or Monument? No one can tell you what is right or wrong for you but I urge you to think of what you have to offer,” said Preston. “Each of us brings a unique gift to the table, one that can be used to move us forward as a people. We are not alone and must begin to recognize our uniqueness and our strength as a collective and not disparate parts of a whole.”