MLK celebrations begin in Cape Girardeau

Virtual festivities to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. began Thursday night with the 19th annual Birthday Extravaganza.

The event, hosted through Zoom by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Citywide Celebration Committee, featured musical and spoken tributes to the late King. Committee chairwoman Debra Mitchell-Braxton said the event was originally created to help educate the local youth.

"The philosophy of this program that we created 19 years ago was to help educate our students in the public school system, and anyone else that's watching, about the legacy of the civil rights movement, not just Dr. King," Mitchell-Braxton said.

Mitchell-Braxton's passion for the holiday stems from her youth, growing up with parents who attended segregated schools.

"I'm very passionate about it, because my parents went to the segregated Black school, the John S. Cobb school, and my parents never taught us about prejudice," Mitchell-Braxton said. "They just said, 'Treat people like you wanted to be treated. You're not better than anyone and nobody's better than you.' My passion is deeply rooted, because I was involved with people who knew what inequality was all about."

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. acknowledges the crowd at the Lincoln Memorial for his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963 during the March on Washington, D.C.Associated Press file photo

The event opened with the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Tamika Green, followed by Ron North performing "Lift Every Voice and Sing," which is known as the "Black national anthem" in the United States. Young people from the area quoted some of King's most-famous lines intertwined with clips of the civil rights leader's speeches. The Cape Girardeau Central High School band performed a rendition of "Amazing Grace," and Peighton Robinson performed her original song "Don't Stop."

Mitchell-Braxton is just happy to help educate and serve others during the holiday.

"His day is also a national day of service," Mitchell-Braxton said. "In 1994, Congress legislated his holiday, the Martin Luther King federal holiday, to have a service act. The service act tells you to get off your back end, and do something for somebody else. Integrate with somebody you would not normally intergrate with and break down the barriers."

Thursday's celebration is the first of four all-virtual events honoring King to be held on Zoom. On Sunday, the 31st annual Dr. King Community Service will take place, and Monday, the 36th annual Dr. King Memorial Breakfast and the 20th annual Humanitaran Benefit will be held. The committee will also be collecting canned goods, hats, scarves, gloves, blankets and other non-perishable items from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday at the Osage Centre.

Upcoming events

• Community Service

6 p.m. Sunday

Meeting ID: 89835513057

Passcode: 608270

• Memorial Breakfast

9 a.m. Monday

Meeting ID: 82965318699

Passcode: 006709

• Humanitarian Benefit

1 p.m. Monday

Meeting ID: 88651638753

Passcode: 284166