SEMO Martin Luther King Jr. dinner celebrates building ‘CommUNITY’

Southeast Missouri State University's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner hosted state Sen. Brian Williams as keynote speaker Wednesday, Jan. 17, at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau.

Williams is a senator in the 14th District in St. Louis County and also is a SEMO alumnus.

Williams said with being a first generation college student who graduated SEMO, and also graduating with multiple degrees, he would have never envisioned ending up being the keynote speaker.

"It was a tremendous honor," he said.

The theme for this year's dinner was "Building CommUNITY Through Service". University president Carlos Vargas said in his remarks that everyone gathered at the event not just to remember Martin Luther King Jr. but also "rekindle his vision".

"I like the idea of achieving accomplishments together, particularly when reflecting on the theme for tonight's celebration," Vargas said. "Dr. King believed that serving others was not only a charitable act, but a moral obligation."

Through his speech, Williams looked back on Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy, but he also looked toward the future of bringing people together to make change. He started out giving a brief history of King and looking at his influence.

Williams said even though civil rights efforts were met with "harsh resistance", King was a great leader.

"Thankfully, for you and me, the progression of this great nation, we had a king who was a drum major, a drum major for peace and a drum major for righteousness," he said.

Near the end of his speech, Williams said our "hearts are big enough" that it's time "to make good" on King's promise.

"We are our ancestors' wildest dreams, and we owe it to our ancestors to come together and break bread and figure out how to move the needle towards justice," Williams said.