Fund raiser to feature tributes to civil rights leader

In what has become his most famous speech, Martin Luther King Jr. laid out a dream of children of all races coming together in harmony.

That's exactly what the ethnically-diverse kindergarten students at Franklin Elementary in Cape Girardeau have been doing.

They have joined hands and cheerful spirits in French and German folk dances, singing:

"Partner come and dance with me,"

"Both my hands I give to thee."

The youngsters are preparing for the second annual Artistic Expressions of Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream to be held at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the University Center Ballroom at Southeast Missouri State University.

"It's important to have diversity in our Martin Luther King events," said event co-organizer Cori McGee. "We didn't want to just limit it to the breakfast and the community programs."

This event gives college students and others in the community a chance to deliver their artistic tributes to honor the dream, she said.

There will be eight performances ranging from dancing to singing to poetry reading.

The evening will start with a prelude by the Franklin kindergartners, under the direction of music teacher Roanne Dean. In addition to their dances, they'll be singing two songs in Spanish and one early American folk song.

"It's really taught them how to get along with other students and work as a team," said Dean.

There will also be an inspirational dance by NaTika Rowles, the chief professional officer at the local Boys and Girls Club, who has an extensive background in dance.

"We're doing this because we are strongly influenced by what he did and we want to keep that legacy going," said Cheryl Mitchell, a Southeast student who will be singing "Angels Watching Over Me" along with fellow students Calandra Jones-Jackson and Kopper Thatch.

The performances will be judged, with judges looking at actual performance, consistency with the theme "I Have a Dream" and creativity.

The event was started last year by the late Dr. Melvin Gillespie, Dr. Larry Proctor, who is no longer at the university, and Debra Mitchell-Braxton to raise money for the Southeast scholarship that bears King's name.

The name was created by Proctor and student Mercedes Jackson, who received the scholarship in 2003. This year Jackson and McGee are the co-chairs.

Organizers hope to be able to offer the scholarship to two students, instead of one as they currently do. This year they hope to raise about $1,000 at the event to go toward the scholarship.

They plan to do this through a live auction, with items donated by university organizations and community businesses.

This year's event will be a bit different from the one last year. Last year's auction was silent and held at the end of the event. This year items will be auctioned live between performances.

Organizers are expecting at least twice the attendance this year over last year. For more information, call Jackson or McGee at 651-5186. Admission is free and the event is open to the public.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182