CWU Celebrates MLK Jr.: 5th annual March & Candlelight Vigil

The week culminates with a Candlelight Vigil and March from 6 to 7 p.m. Participants are asked to meet at the SURC Pit and the march will go around campus. Marchers will carry signs and sing songs from the Civil Rights Movement of the early 60s. After the march, the Celebration and Tribute event will begin at 7 p.m. in the SURC Theatre. Rev. Dr. Vern W. McGee, Ellensburg Grace Episcopal Church, will be the master of ceremonies for the program, which consists of live music, speakers and various readings including the "I Have A Dream" speech. Ester Huey, a well-known community leader and activist in the Yakima area, will deliver the keynote address. A retired director of the Yakima County Substance Abuse Coalition, Huey helped rebuild the largest African American owned and operated health care facility in the state for seniors and was essential to the revival of the Southeast Yakima Community Center. Huey also has a passion to help area youth and has opened her home to more than 20 foster children. She has been the recipient of numerous awards for work and commitment, which reaches beyond Yakima throughout the state of Washington. Activities and events have been organized by the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee and sponsored by CWU Africana & Black Studies, CWU Students for the Dream, CWU Black Student Union, CWU E.M.P.I.R.E., CWU Center for Leadership and Community Engagement, Grace Episcopal Church, First United Methodist and the CWU Center for Diversity and Social Justice.