Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 10 January 2002 — Page 45

The Muncie Times, January 10, 2002, page 45

DREAM TEAM FROM PAGE 15 I met him I learned the value of having a spiritual connection in my life. I was 13 when he died. Chicago was burnt to the ground and so did the drugstore where I used to work after school. I had to go from door to door looking for another job, until a man who made custom cabinets took me in. Tb this day I still make cabinets whenever I get the time. Dr King’s death taught me the value of work,” he said. The member of the Dream Team in charge of coordinating activities at Ball State University is Dr. Derick Virgil, chair of the MLK Jr. Celebration Committee at Ball State and

director of the Multicultural Center since June 2001. For the first time this year, Ball State University will cancel classes in observance of Dr Martin Luther Jr. Day. Events at Ball State will run

Jan. 21 through Jan. 26. On the first day, the Ball State community will join hands with the rest of the Muncie community at Muncie Central High School. It is hoped that that bus shuttle service will be available from the university to Muncie. Ball State students are also scheduled to attend the evening service at Christ

Tfemple Church.

The highlight of the events at Ball State will be a 7 p.m. march on Tuesday from Lafollette Field to Emens Auditorium, where the keynote speaker will be Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the slain civil rights leader. King will be presented at this event with an Alpha Phi Alpha Award and a winner will also be announced for a locally organized essay and bulletin board contest. On Jan. 23, there will be

a home basketball game and a candlelight vigil, after the game, titled “Remembering Our Heroes.” At 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 24, Cardinal Hall in the Ball State Student Center will host a “Campus Discussion on Race Relations at Ball State University.” To end the week’s events, a “Unity Pageant”will be held in Emens Auditorium, under the auspices of the Black Student Association. Virgil obtained his bachelor’s degree in business administration from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro in 1990 and went on to complete a master’s degree in English and Afro American literature from the same universityin 1993.

In 1994

he moved to Ihe University of MissouriColumbia, in Columbia, Mo., from where he graduated in 2000 with a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis and was given the

Excellence in Academics Award by the graduate

school.

His dissertation dealt with the history of affirmative action in higher education in the United States and the views of graduate and professional students on that policy. He has worked in various capacities throughout his educational career and has presented papers at many conferences on issues affecting African American students and other minorities. He has an on-going research program in these areas that he hopes to have published in the near future. Virgil was adjunct professor of education and English at Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C., before coming to Ball State. He recalls innocently asking his mother, as a young boy, why

some people’s skin color was pink while others” was brown. He said his mother replied that it was not the person’s skin color that mattered but what was in the person. “It is veiy important for people to get to know people before they judge them,” he said. A stint working in the Mississippi Delta also exposed Virgil to some reminders of the past. “I met some of the friendliest and yet some of the poorest people there. It gave me an appreciation of what we’ve been through,”

he said.

The latest reminder for Virgil was the movie “Ali” which includes references to the lives of both Dr King, and Malcolm X. “We can’t afford to forget the history the United States came through, the growing pains and imperfections. That is why we have to celebrate the people who helped us grow as a country. It is very encouraging to see the Dream Tfeam committee getting so much done in such a short time,” he said. Virgil admires Dr King because of his willingness to accept such an uncertain public position, which placed so much stress on his personal life, yet still provided the country with a spokesperson who made such meaningful changes. The Collective Coahtion of Concerned Clergy (CCCC) is represented on the Dream Team by Pastor Karen Lang, the chair for the 2002 MLK Celebrations Committee. She has been involved with the Muncie celebrations since 1999.

celebrations lasted one day and included a corporate breakfast at the downtown First Mediants Bank headquarters, followed by a youth-led service, workshops for all ages, a pizza lunch for participants

and a concluding evening

service at Christ Temple

Church.

A survey conducted by the CCCC in 2001 indicated a desire to expose more people to the event and sparked the change in the 2002 celebrations. As part of a more humanistic approach, this year’s celebrations will

last 3 days.

The overall theme for the three-day celebration is “Do Justice Love Mercy-Walk Humbly. The Do Justice Saturday will kick off at 10 a.m. on Jan. 19 at the Muncie Central Auditorium where the focus will be on lifelong education and the accomplishments of 750 students from Muncie Community Schools will be

celebrated.

The keynote speaker will be Judge Z. Mae Jimison of Indianapolis, an African American who relates well across generations and encourages famihes to reach their maximum potential. At 6 p.m. on Jan. 21, there will be a Do Justice Banquet at the Cardinal Hall at Ball State, where the keynote speaker will be attorney Dennis Stolle of the International Society of Therapeutic Jurisprudence. A corporate award, for an institution that is doing justice in Muncie/Delaware County, will also be presented. All proceeds will go towards funding a higher education scholarship administered by the CCCC. The Love Mercy Sunday will feature a 4 p.m concert, on Muncie’s High Street by UMC Celebration of Song with Pastor Kevin Woodgett. Walk Humbly Monday will kickoff at 7 am. with the

usual First Merchants Bank breakfast, a youth program at Muncie Central at 9 a.m., workshops at 10 a.m., a pizza lunch at noon and a church service at Christ

Pastor Karen Lang graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Arts and Sciences in 1976. She then attended the University of Cincinnati College of Law, where she obtained a juris doctor degree in 1979. In 1998 she emerged from the Garret Evangelical Theological Institute with a master’s degree in divinity. In her pursuit of lifelong learning, she is enrolled at Ball State University, where she is studying towards a master’s degree in executive development for community service. She has established and directs Vashti Ministries, Inc., a nondenominational community ministry that draws upon her experiences as an attorney, a United Methodist Minister and a community activist. She was the first female member of the CCCC. “Our whole concept for this year was to broaden the appeal of the King celebrations to those who have not participated before. The idea is to walk in a way that lifts ourselves and others up, which is “lifting as we climb.” Success without sharing is no success at all,” she said, “Dr King taught us to love unconditionally. When I was younger, I did not think that would work, but now I know it does.” Events at Taylor University’s Upland campus are coordinated by Dream Team member Dr Walter Campbell, dean of Student Affairs and chair of the MLK Planning Committee. Taylor University has, for the past 9 years, celebrated Dr King Day with a number of activities, including cancellation of classes. It is the first time, however, that activities at the university have been coordinated with Muncie, as the traditional reach has been Grant and Marion counties. According to Campbell the celebrations were initiated by the students but won the support of the administration. Activities kick off at 8 pm on Jan. 20.with a Dream Team see page 52

Dr. Derick Virgil

Rev. Karen Lang

Church at 7 p.m.