January 21, 2019 saw hundreds of tri state residents gathering in at the Grand River Center in downtown Dubuque for the 27th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast and Birthday Celebration. People came together to enjoy music, sing, and listen to Keynote Speaker, Dr Vincent Bacote.

Bacote is a theology professor at Wheaton College. He is also a published author and ordained minister.

Ms. Maria Araeipour, Christeen Knox (9), Ms. Mandy Benson, Ms. Krissy Mueller, Dr. Dan Johnson, Nyla Noble (12), Caitie Lindley (12), Kalayah Martin (10), and Ajana Parker (10) represented Dubuque Senior High School at the event.

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gathered citizens together for a peaceful march in Washington D.C. Afterward, he discussed civil rights in one of the most famous speeches in history, “I Have a Dream,” to more than 200,000 people. To this day, Martin Luther King Jr. inspires many all around the world to stand up for their rights.

Earlier that same year, King was arrested and sent to jail due to his protesting the treatments of African Americans in Birmingham, Alabama. On April 16, 1963, he wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” discussing the civil disobedience and addressed to a group of white clergymen who criticized his tactics. In this letter, he stated, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on January 15, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents were Martin Luther King Sr., a pastor, and Alberta Williams King, a former schoolteacher. King attended segregated public schools and later went to Morehouse College where he studied medicine and law. He then enrolled in a graduate program at Boston University and earned a doctorate in systematic theology in 1955. After graduating, King lived in Montgomery, Alabama, with his wife, and became pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church.

During his time as a leader and spokesperson, Martin Luther King Jr. was awarded five honorary degrees and was named Man of the Year by Time magazine in 1963. King also received the Noble Peace Prize in 1964 for his leadership of the Civil Rights movement. After receiving the prize money for the Noble Peace Prize, he turned it over to the civil rights movement.

Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

This started a campaign in which activists coordinated a bus boycott that would last for 381 days. Martin Luther King Jr. was chosen to be the campaign’s leader and official spokesperson.

King and other civil rights activists founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC was committed to achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolent protests. Their motto was, “Not one hair of one head of one person should be harmed.”

To view the various speakers in their entirety, visit https://www.dbqschools.org/district/community/facesandvoices/

Again, our apologies for this and other stories not being posted in the most timely manner. Hopefully the weather will let up soon and we can get caught up. Thank you for your patience and understanding!