Around the country, people are celebrating the legacy of a civil rights icon Monday and Delaware is no exception.
Hundreds remembered Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through dance, music, speeches and volunteerism at Delaware State University.
Sen. Chris Coons (D) spoke about the idea of hope guiding and inspiring King and his followers to strive for a better tomorrow, noting places like DSU can make that happen.
“As you come on this campus, as you come in this room today, as you spend time here at Delaware State, you can feel that this is a place that is all about saying, ‘I can do that,’ that keeps lifting up dreams,” Coons said.
Speeches were punctuated with musical performances from the Sankofa String Orchestra and community singers belting out spirituals that might’ve inspired King.
Keynote speaker and state Kids Department Secretary Carla Benson Green commented on the recent spate of police violence against minorities.
Green says the way to strengthen resolve and shift momentum forward is to start rebuilding tight-knit communities.
“We need to be able to support each other not only financially, but you’ve got to be involved with those programs and those children that need support – the families [too], not even just the children, because there are some adults that need adult mentorship.”
It’s something she says has been lost since the Civil Rights movement, but not something that is gone forever.
“We’ve lost that sense of supporting each other the way it was, the way we were, and a lot of that, I believe, has come because of the fact that we have come a long way and we moved out of our communities.”
Using Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a day on, not a day off, Green says, is a step forward in reestablishing those ties.