For the members of Alpha Phi Alpha, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is like a brother to them. And they mean to honor that relationship.

“We’re looking forward to getting the crowd excited about the entire program, setting the tone, and paying tribute and homage to our brother Martin Luther King Jr.,” said Abdou Diakite, president of Alpha Phi Alpha, a fraternity that King himself belonged to.

On Sunday, students will perform a cappella, poetry, step-dance, dance performances and other acts at Syracuse University’s 29^th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, “Pursuing the Dream: Above All Odds.” Doors at the Carrier Dome will open at 4 p.m., and the dinner will begin at 4:30 p.m. The keynote speaker is Freeman Hrabowski, and Alpha Phi Alpha will present him with an award.

The four student groups performing are Alpha Phi Alpha, Black Legacy, The Nu Rho Poetic society and Creations Dance company.

Black Legacy, an all-male black a cappella group, is set to perform Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” a song its members hope will help people connect.

“Martin Luther King Jr. was a vital character of that time and the music provides a good feel for the time period,” said Ray Lezama, assistant business manager of Black Legacy. “Our stage performance provides a feeling of unity for people from all different backgrounds and symbolizes the fact that everyone came from different struggles.”

Creations Dance company will performing a choreographed piece titled “Free Yourself.” The choreographer, Rayna Gamble, said the dance is an instrumental piece about self-expression and being “true to yourself,” regardless of the circumstances.

“Martin Luther King Day means accepting and loving yourself and never giving up on dreams you set for yourself, no matter who you are or where you stand socially, economically or racially,” Gamble said. “Although [Dr. King] is no longer with us, his message is so strong and his legacy lives on.”

Along with song and dance, poetry will be another element of the performances honoring King. The Nu Rho Poetic society is going to have four members of various backgrounds and genders perform slam poetry pieces at the show this weekend.

“We’re performing slam poetry because we feel as a group that poetry gives a voice to the people,” said Sarah Ku, a Nu Rho member and sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. “As a diverse group of people with different outlooks and opinions on life, bringing a poetic dialogue into this performance will start something within the people.”

Ku went on to reiterate the importance of dialogue and poetry, stating that in Dr. King’s speeches, he used poetic techniques in an effort to connect with the people. She said his work brought dialogue back into the lives of Americans so that they could improve race relations. For Ku, the annual celebrations are a way to correct the “culture of racism that still exists today.”

Christopher Whitehead, a Nu Rho poet and senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he is participating in the group’s performance of “In Dreams Begin Responsibilities” because of his commitment to equality.

“I believe that we all have a responsibility to pursue love no matter what skin tone or background,” he said.

Every year, on the third Monday in January, Whitehead honors the memory of King by reading and watching the civil rights leader’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. He also pays respect to other influential people such as Malcolm X, Medgar Evers and Rosa Parks. He said their efforts have allowed people come to “one center of love, realize how we got here and focus how we’re going to keep moving in that direction.”

Ku said she supported King for all his actions to promote civil equality for all races, including the Chinese. Ku added that if King hadn’t helped repeal the Chinese Exclusion Act in the 1960s, her parents could never have immigrated to America.

Alexander Sammartino, another member of Nu Rho, said he thought it was important that the group’s pieces reflected who they were as individuals. People’s ability to spread love and grow together has inspired him to do so himself and is one of the reasons he wanted to perform at the celebration.

He believes the diversity of Nu Rho’s members is very important in that it portrays equality.

Said Sammartino: “We are all close friends with different backgrounds who represent MLK’s dream and vision.”

Published on January 15, 2014 at 11:28 pm

Contact Ian: ijromake@syr.edu