The elephant in the room — or in this case in Washington — was not dwelled on but it was addressed.
South Suburban College held its Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Monday morning at the same time Donald Trump raised his right hand and was sworn in as president.
That fact was not lost on some of the speakers.
South Suburban College Chairman Terry Wells said King’s legacy may be in jeopardy.
The Rev. Ozzie Smith Jr,. pastor emeritus of Covenant United Church of Christ in South Holland, said the change in presidents could result in division rather than unity.
The keynote speaker, the Rev. Julian DeShazier, senior pastor at University Church in Chicago, heard jeers and boos from the 400-plus people at the Kindig Performing Art Center on the campus when he mentioned Trump by name. But there were also a few loud cheers.
“My guess is you being here today is responding to that (inauguration) somehow,” DeShazier said.
“It reminds me of that sermon King was working on, Memphis, on April 4, 1968,” he said, referencing the day King was assassinated. “What many of us don’t know is that the title of his unfinished sermon was ‘Why America May Go to Hell.’”
DeShazier likened some of the new administration’s views to a fence.
“The fence says that affordable health care is not a universal human right,” he said. “The fence says that immigrants don’t belong here and that Black people don’t deserve the same equity and rights as everybody else.
“If there is anything that we ought to remember while we are celebrating King while this other thing is happening right now, it is that some fences need crashing into.”
Most of the more than two-hour event in South Holland, however, was celebrating and remembering King’s life, accomplishments and messages.
DeShazier gave a history lesson about King. While the civil rights leader has been glorified and canonized over the decades, DeShazier said King was a tough man who fought for his beliefs.
“You all thought King was soft, didn’t you?” he asked the crowd. “King, like the Jesus he served, has been softened up by the public.
“But he was, in fact, a radical. He was a fence-crasher. He was, as the great Charles Murphy used to say, a habitual line stepper.”
DeShazier said King was considered an enemy of the state by the FBI and died unpopular.
State Sen. Napoleon Harris III, the Thornton Township Democratic committeeman, talked about building communities.
“If you’re not about building your community, then you are in the wrong community,” Harris said. “Because this community is about uplifting. This community is about togetherness.”
Harris also said that King was not a “soft” person.
“Dr. King had a very demonstrative message if you listen close enough,” Harris said. “He also had a message of love, peace and unity. He was very militant in the fact that he loved his people and wanted them to ascend to higher causes.
“He believed in nonviolence. He believed in not starting a fight. But he also didn’t run from it either.”
Thornton Township District 205 high schools were heavily involved in the program as combined band directors Sam Pilnik of Thornridge, Zachary Jones of Thornton and Dwayne Sanders of Thornwood brought their musicians.
The three schools also combined to form a concert choir under the direction of Michael Cierski to perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Cierski also directed the South Suburban College Voices choir in a rendition of “Give Me Jesus.”
Thornton’s Civil Air Patrol students presented the colors. Other music was provided by Simbryt Dortch, The Thomas Singers and the Bourne Family.
Wells said the college has hosted this event for more than 20 years and the auditorium is usually full.
Single-digit temperatures on Monday did not change that.
“I didn’t see an empty seat in the place,” he said. “It usually draws a very good crowd and a very diverse crowd.
“Under the conditions, it is very cold outside, people braved the elements to come here and be a part of this program, which has become an integral part of the community.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
