Under the baobab: MLK banquet, sports accomplishments among Happy Valley highlights
Congrats to legendary running back Ki-Jana Carter for making it into the College Football Hall of Fame. Carter played on Penn State’s 1991-94 team. He was the 1994 Heisman Trophy runner-up and led the ‘94 team to a 12-0 record and was co-MVP in the victory over the Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl.
Penn State wrestler Levi Haines scored a major decision at the Journeyman Collegiate Duals; it was the team’s 77th consecutive win in a Division I dual meet, setting a new NCAA Division I record for the Cael Sanderson coached squad. Go Blue.
In other Pennsylvania sports news, the Tomlin era of the Steelers has ended. Mike Tomlin has stepped down as head coach after 19 winning seasons and a Super Bowl title. The Steelers won their division but lost their first playoff game. Godspeed, Coach Tomlin.
In the entertainment world, our area had several connections to the recently televised Golden Globes. Keegan Michael Key, MFA ’96 theater grad, presented two awards. Amanda Seyfried, born and raised in Allentown, was nominated for best actress in a comedy for “The Testament of Ann Lee,” where she portrayed the founder of the Shaker community. She may yet be nominated for an Academy Award for best actress. Delroy Lindo, who lives part-time in Happy Valley with his grad student wife, may be up for a supporting actor nomination for his role in “Sinners,” which won two Golden Globes.
Around town
One of the year’s most important annual events, the 51st Dr. Martin Luther King Memorial Banquet, was held Thursday, on King’s birthday. The theme of the sold-out banquet at the Bryce Jordan Center was “Undaunted Hope.” It was sponsored by the Forum on Black Affairs (FOBA), The Fox Graduate School, the Office of the Vice Provost for Educational Equity and the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. Stephanie Danette Preston, past president of FOBA, and Evan Williams, director of PRCC, were hosts.
Penn State Provost Fotis Sotiropoulos gave the keynote address. Gary Abdullah Jr., assistant dean for diversity and inclusion in the Bellisario College of Communications, gave the blessing. Essence of Joy and the United Christian Campus Ministry Choir provided inspirational music. Sir Dominique performed spoken word. Evan Williams and Dr. Levon T. Esters, vice provost and dean of the Fox Graduate School, presented brief remarks.
Jamie Campbell, assistant dean for diversity enhancement programs in the Smeal College of Business, was honored with the Humanitarian Award. The Fannie Lou Hamer and WEB Dubois Scholarship for undergrads was presented to Gyasi Franklin, a film production student in the Bellisario College. Deja Workman won the grad student scholarship.
And the resistance continues. On Jan. 10, State College Mayor Ezra Nanes spoke to 200 people who gathered at the Allen Street Gates to protest the death of Renee Nicole Good and the excesses of ICE in Minneapolis and elsewhere. Several other borough and county officials were also in attendance. They joined an estimated 1,000 other rallies in towns and cities around the country.
On Tuesday, over 100 people gathered in front of Old Main to bear witness and support their neighbors being harassed by federal immigration authorities. Afterward they marched to the State College Municipal Building.
Monday Candles for Peace activists gathered as usual at the Allen Street Gates between 5-5:30 p.m. A fairly large group protested Tuesday at U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson’s Bellefonte office, from noon to 1 p.m.
On this anniversary of his birth, many ask what would MLK do if he were alive today. I believe he would have rolled up his sleeves and gone to work on the obvious problems of our time: poverty, global warming, income distribution, fair housing, health care, education, corrosion of civil rights and the rise of fascism. He would not work alone because he understood that progress comes not from individual acts of desperation but a collective will of the people. We are the People.
Charles Dumas is a lifelong political activist, a professor emeritus from Penn State, and was the Democratic Party’s nominee for the U.S. Congress in 2012. He is a Lions Paw honoree. He lives in State College with his wife and partner of over 50 years.