Forum on Black Affairs hosts banquet to celebrate life of Martin Luther King Jr.

Each January, the nation celebrates the life and legacy of one of its most iconic civil rights heroes, Martin Luther King Jr. The day was first observed as a federal holiday in 1986 and wasn’t officially recognized by all 50 states until 2000.

The Forum on Black Affairs at Penn State has observed a celebration of King since 1974.

FOBA hosted its 41st annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet on Friday at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel.

The banquet gave an opportunity to honor community members for their service and leadership; notably Grace Hampton, professor emerita at Penn State, and Anthony Leach, Essence of Joy music director, both of whom were welcomed to the stage amid standing ovations.

But it was also a time to remember why King’s work is so important.

Although it has been nearly 50 years since King’s death, his words and ideology are just as true — and just as necessary, speakers said.

Wanda Knight, president of FOBA, related her experiences as a child of the 1960s South to the political and social turmoil that has prompted movements such as Black Lives Matter today.

“Many of us who grew up in the ’60s during the civil rights movement cannot believe we are still fighting for the same things,” she said.

Following King’s example of protest in the face of civil injustice, the movement has caused a “proliferation of student protests and unrest on college campuses,” including Penn State.

Since its creation, Knight said, the Black Lives Matter movement has amassed 21 chapters across the United States and one each in Canada and Ghana. It has also spurred more than 1,000 protests in the past year.

Penn State President Eric Barron also recalled being a teenager during the height of King’s influence.

“It was a time in which we believed we were finally leaving behind a chapter of unapologetic racism and withering injustice. … It was an incredibly powerful time and a time of great change,” Barron said.

Hampton, as she accepted her Humanitarian Award, said she has observed another time of great change at Penn State as more women, blacks and other minorities have been added to the roster of both faculty and administrators.

“There has been a major effort by administrators at Penn State to change the climate for the good of us all,” Hampton said.

Although the “current volatile political environment” is “at our doorstep,” Hampton was positive that change is possible — as long as every individual is treated with respect.

Barron said the past year has shown the “impact of an epidemic of microaggressions,” but encouraged following King’s example of effecting change.

“We are not done walking with Martin Luther King. He said we must ‘lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood,’ ” Barron said. “We haven’t finished that sentence.”

Knight summed up the theme of the evening — and of the ongoing battle for civil justice — with King’s words.

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2016 at 11:57 PM with the headline "Forum on Black Affairs hosts banquet to celebrate life of Martin Luther King Jr.."