Tough Questions, No Simple Answers at MLK Day Events

Difficult questions and pointed discussions marked the second half of Evanston’s .

Evanston residents showed up in numbers, as near 150 people congregated at , at 1717 Benson Avenue, for Monday afternoon’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Day events.

At noon began the “MLK Interfaith Convocation,” a nondenominational service held in the main sanctuary, complete with an invocation, prayers, hymns and spirituals.

In attendance were several prominent community representatives, including Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (13th District), Illinois Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (9th District) and U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (9th District). All three spoke during a portion of the service titled “community reflections.”

Rabbi Andrea London of Beth Emet synagogue provided the service’s sermon, delivering a passionate speech in which she questioned whether Evanston was a truly integrated, or merely desegregated community.

“Can we really say 37 years after the Civil Rights Act that we are an integrated community here in Evanston?” asked London. “Can we say that we’re integrated in our schools and in our work places? We may pass each other in the halls. We may even sit in the same classrooms. But do we really know each other? Do we work together on issues that affect us?”

After a short meal-break, attendees reconvened in the sanctuary for a panel discussion on “Religion, Diversity and Keys to Community Building,” a group discussion meant to address lesser known and under-examined diversity-related issues.

Dr. Peter Cha, a faculty member at the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, spoke on the plight of impoverished Asian communities in Chicago. He informed the audience of the difficulties faced by the Chin, a minority ethnic population which immigrating to Chicago a few years ago, fleeing Myanmar after facing persecution from the nation’s military dictatorship.

Mohammed Saiduzzaman, President of the Dar-us-Sunnah Masjid and Community Center, billed as the first mosque in Evanston, emphasized his view on the necessity for immigrant populations to embrace America as their new home by participating in social discussions and giving back to the community.

Reverend Dr. Mbu Walters, the outreach minister for African populations at Chicago’s Edgewater Presbyterian Church, addressed the challenges in trying to unite African populations in America, stressing that his homeland of Cameroon, alone, over 160 different ethnic groups exist.

Themes that reverberated throughout this discussion included the notions that diversity extends beyond race and nationality, that cultural education and understanding are essential to building diverse communities, and that true integration requires concessions from all groups.

Rev. Karen Mosby-Avery, assistant pastor at Evanston’s Second Baptist Church and the panel’s fourth member, questioned whether people were really prepared to make cultural allowances which differed from their norm.

“There is a sense of loss that as [my children] are being exposed to a greater cultural diversity, that their sense of being African American … will be lost,” Mosby-Avery said. “Do you buy into the vision? Are you willing to invest in the vision of being integrated or being a diverse community? I think that we’re not all quite so sure. We know we’re … supposed to say yes, but we’re not so sure.”

As the day’s events drew to a close, residents shuffled out of the church holding lit candles, convening on the sidewalk for a short candlelight vigil amid light rain showers.

People cupped their hands over the flames to protect them from the rain and huddled together closely as they sang “We Shall Overcome,” the protest song which became a well-known anthem of the civil rights movement.

With the MLK Community Peace Pledge Day near its end, residents recited a “peace pledge” in unison.

The “peace pledge and affirmation” reads:

“To hold sacred the dream of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I pledge: to be a voice and a model for peace, non-violence and ethical behavior, to go out of my way to be caring and kind, to contribute to the unity of the Evanston community through generosity and service to others, to emulate Dr. King’s values of respect, compassion and tenderness toward everyone, regardless of our differences. By these actions, I pledge to stand for justice and together we will nurture Evanston’s Beloved Community.”

The pledge also contained a form, allowing attendees to sign up for “Volunteer Evanston,”. The website launches Feb. 14 and aims to aggregate and organize community-service opportunities in the city by connecting local nonprofit organizations with potential volunteers.