Mid-Michigan's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission is continuing its nearly four decades long commemoration of the activist who paved the way for nonviolent civil disobedience. The group is honoring Dr. King's legacy with an event at the Lansing Center Monday. Elaine Hardy is the chair of the organizing commission.
WKAR's Megan Schellong spoke with Elaine Hardy about what to expect at this year's event, plus the legacy Dr. King continues to leave on the next generation of civil rights leaders.
Interview Highlights
On guest speaker Ruby Bridges
This was a six-year-old child that had to be escorted to school by four federal marshals. She was six-years-old and it happened in 1960. And many people relate the Civil Rights Movement to ages ago. But that's very recent American history, correct?
On what to expect during the Day of Celebration
We've got our Music of the Dream symphony, it’s a 60-piece, multicultural orchestra that's conducted by a person of color. We have the amazing musical stylings of Pastor Donnie McClurkin, the Grammy Award winner gospel artist and Wintley Phipps. We also will be featuring our essay and scholarship contest winners and presenting our King Legacy of Service award.
On how the commission hopes to inspire the next generation of leaders
Dr. King had this quote where he said that we are inextricably bound to one another, tied together immutably, right? What affects one directly affects us all indirectly. When we understand that, if anyone suffers injustice, if any group is disenfranchised, it is affecting all of us. And so our goal is to continue to talk about and uplift issues.
Interview Transcript
Megan Schellong: Mid-Michigan's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission is continuing its nearly four decades-long commemoration of the activist who paved the way for nonviolent civil disobedience. The group is honoring Dr. King's legacy with an event at the Lansing Center Monday. Elaine Hardy is the chair of the organizing commission. She joins us now to discuss what to expect from this year's MLK Day of Celebration event. Elaine, Thanks for being here.
Elaine Hardy: Megan, thank you so much for having me.
Schellong: Good to have you. So, mid Michigan's Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission has been holding this event for 39 years. How did this Day of Celebration come about?
Hardy: Yes, we've actually been hosting luncheon events for 39 years. So this is actually our 39th luncheon event. But the actual Commission has been in existence since 1983. We were formed by local business leaders, elected officials and community members to help push for federal legislation of a national King holiday.
And when Ronald Reagan signed that legislation in 1988, our commission remained intact. Many of them across the nation disbanded because they felt like the work had been done. But what we saw in our community was an opportunity to further the legacy of Dr. King and continue his work. And so, since 1983, we have been doing that on the third Monday of January.
Schellong: This year's guest speaker is Ruby Bridges, who is a civil rights icon, who in 1960, became one of the first African American children to integrate in all way elementary school in New Orleans at just six-years-old. What are you hoping people take away from her message?
Hardy: One of the things that I like to remind people of because exactly what you said: that this was a six-year-old child that had to be escorted to school by four federal marshals. She was six-years-old and it happened in 1960. And many people relate the Civil Rights Movement to ages ago. But that's very recent American history, correct?
And so, when we think about that image that we all know of from Norman Rockwell, where he immortalized her in his iconic print The Problem We All Live With, there’s a Ruby Bridges that believes in reconciliation, who believes that the path forward is through healing and reconciliation and teaching young children that racism is a disease, and that it is something that is taught.
It's not inherent in us as human beings to dislike one another, or don't hold each other's humanity in high regard. And so her work now is really focused on teaching children in the next generation, how to reconcile racial hatred and to move forward past it.
Schellong: So Ruby Bridges will definitely be a highlight of this MLK Day of Celebration event. What else can we expect on the day's agenda?
Hardy: So celebrations always include music. We've got our Music of the Dream symphony, it’s a 60-piece, multicultural orchestra that's conducted by a person of color. We have the amazing musical stylings of Pastor Donnie McClurkin, the Grammy Award winner gospel artist and Wintley Phipps.
We also will be featuring our essay and scholarship contest winners and presenting our King Legacy of Service award. So it's a jam packed, Day of Celebration full of music and entertainment and fun. And we're just looking forward to the celebration like we do every year.
Schellong: And we know that there's no celebration complete without music, as you mentioned, speaking to a different aspect of the event. I want to move into funding, I believe I saw that the Commission raised more than $150,000 this year from various businesses around mid-Michigan. Where are those funds going to support?
Hardy: We actually raised about a quarter of a million dollars this year for local organizations and organizations that have a global reach. To host an event of this magnitude at the Lansing Center is not an inexpensive task, right? So our signature event which is our Day of Celebration, we raise money to host that event. We also ask for sponsorships for that event in order to keep it affordable so that families could participate. They also help us do some of the work that we get to do all year round. So support our essays and scholarship efforts, support our annual art contest with prizes.
Schellong: I want to circle back now to Dr. King's legacy and his commitment to fighting for civil rights. Your commission that you serve on has been working since 1983 to challenge systemic injustice. How are you hoping to inspire the next generation of civil rights leaders?
Hardy: Really to help continue to talk about injustice. When we understand Dr. King had this quote where he said that we are inextricably bound to one another, tied together immutably, right? What affects one directly affects us all indirectly. When we understand that, if anyone suffers injustice, if any group is disenfranchised, it is affecting all of us. And so our goal is to continue to talk about and uplift issues.
Schellong: And that is a perfect way to end our conversation. That's Elaine Hardy. She's the chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Mid-Michigan. Elaine, thank you so much.
Hardy: It has been my pleasure to talk with you, Megan.
Schellong: The MLK Day of Celebration event is Monday, Jan. 15. From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lansing Center.