Submitted by Noblesville Diversity Coalition
Pausing to remember and celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s life has become a collaborative community gathering led by Noblesville residents and leaders from the faith and broader community.
MLK Day became a nationally-recognized federal holiday in 2000. According to American historian and professor of humanities Michael Honey, “This was the first holiday around a national figure who was not president, and who is African American.”1
MLK was one of the most influential American civil rights leaders calling for the end of racial segregation and racial equity in the United States. Maybe most famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech, MLK dreamed of a day when his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character.”
On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr., delivered a speech to a massive group of civil rights marchers gathered around the Lincoln memorial in Washington, D.C. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom brought together the nation’s most prominent civil rights leaders, along with tens of thousands of marchers, to press the United States government for equality. The culmination of this event was the influential and most memorable speech of Dr. King’s career. Popularly known as the “I Have a Dream” speech, the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. influenced the federal government to take more direct actions to more fully realize racial equality.2 – National Archives
After nearly 60 years, what would MLK say to our nation and Noblesville? What progress have we made? What are the greatest needs right now? What can we do individually and collectively?
From noon to 1:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 18, a panel discussion will be held collaboratively by local churches in cooperation with Bethel AME Church, Noblesville First United Methodist Church, White River Church, Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, Noblesville Schools, Noblesville Chamber of Commerce, and Noblesville Diversity Coalition to promote diversity and to foster racial conversations.
Noblesville Diversity Coalition believes engaging in honest and open dialogue is a step toward our community becoming more welcoming and inclusive for everyone. This panel discussion will be broadcast live on the NDC Facebook page. The focus will be on questions and concerns associated with race and equity. The panel is asking residents to submit questions for consideration to the panel.
Questions can be submitted on the NDC Facebook page, or a form may be accessed by visiting NoblesvilleDiversityCoalition.org. All questions need to be submitted by Thursday, Jan. 14 to ensure consideration.
In case you can’t join the panel live, the discussion will be recorded and posted on the NDC Facebook page and website to view at a later time.
The panel will include local pastors, Reverend Mindy Mayes of Bethel AME Church and Jerry Rairdon of Noblesville First United Methodist Church, business leader Norman Williams, Ball State professor Jill Walls, Noblesville Police Deputy Chief Shannon Trump, and Noblesville High School’s Black Student Union President Ellis Tarver.