While many libraries and museums throughout the state are also closed, those in East Central Illinois that do stay open oftentimes have programming for families to learn more about King.

Festivities kick-off on Feb. 17 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Vineyard Church Urbana Campus, located at 1500 N. Lincoln Ave. in Urbana.

The Countywide Celebration, hosted by the cities of Champaign and Urbana, alongside Champaign County, the Village of Rantoul, Parkland College and the University of Illinois, will include Keynote Speaker Dr. Sampson Davis, who grew up in Newark, NJ and founded The Three Doctors Foundation. Davis is also the youngest African American to receive The Scroll of Merit, the National Medical Associations highest honor.

The Nfinite Soul Band will also provide entertainment.

The Krannert Center for Performing Arts will hold its 35th Annual Dr. MLK, Jr. Service of Celebration on Jan. 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Foellinger Great Hall.

Since 1988, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Advocacy for Justice Committee has awarded more than 200 scholarships to local students attending colleges such as Parkland College, University of Illinois, and historically Black colleges and universities.

This year, they honor the memory of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a keynote address and music from the community choir.

The Vineyard Church, Mahomet Hub will celebrate King’s birthday with the 35th Annual Unity Breakfast at the Urbana Campus from 8:30 to noon on Jan. 20.

From 1 to 3 p.m. on Jan. 20, the Champaign County Forest Preserve will host School’s Out: Martin Luther King Celebration at the Museum of the Grand Prairie.

Guests will have opportunities to explore the rich cultural heritage of the African American community in Champaign County. Activities, that include crafts, songs and videos, will help guests learn more about the  life of Dr. King, celebrate his legacy and how everyone can keep that mission alive in the present time.

The Danville Public Library will provide crafts and a documentary, “10 Things You May Not Know About Martin Luther King, Jr.” for children ages 5-12 on Jan. 20 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Danville will kick-off MLK Day at 10:30 a.m. with a parade that will begin at the corner of Main St. and Logan Ave. and end with a ceremony at St. James United Methodist Church where Reverend Daniel J. Garrett, pastor of Spirit Redeemed Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago will speak.

St. James United Methodist Church will also host “Pursuing Peace Together” on Jan. 19 at 4 p.m. at the Days Hotel at 77 N. Gilbert St., Danville.

When Shepards Worship (WSW), a gospel group from Chicago, Illinois will perform.

The fun doesn’t have to stop there, though. Other organizations provide other activities during the late afternoon and evening hours.

The Middle Fork River Preserve will host School’s Out: Owl Prowl from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 20.

The great horned howls begin nesting in January, providing owl-watchers will a great change to see or hear a live owl during the month of January. The CCFPD staff will begin with a presentation about native Illinois owls and dissecting owl pellets indoors. The group will then head outside to look for owls before the sun sets. Space is limited and there is a $5 per person fee.

Those looking for an adventure can grab an Illinois Heartland Library System Library Crawl card from their home library, then venture out to meet new people and discover new libraries during their time off school or work.

The St. Joseph Township- Swearingen Memorial Library, which is participating in the Library Crawl, is hosting their Winter Book Sale until Jan. 30. Books and other library material is available with a donation.

From 6:30 to 7 p.m. the St. Joseph library will also be telling stories to children during their regularly scheduled storytime.

The post Martin Luther King Jr. ceremonies and celebrations in East Central Illinois first appeared on SJO Daily.

A few years back, a friend gifted me a slotted, black felt board with white plastic letters for Christmas. I use it to put messages in my living room. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day I put “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

My son, who was 11-years old two years ago, said he didn’t understand. So, I took him into the bathroom and turned the lights off. With no windows, it was pitch-black.

I asked him if he could add more darkness to the room to make it lighter. He said, “no.” I then asked him how he could add light in the room. He said the only way was to turn on the light. So we did that.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkess; only light can do that.”

I then asked him what he would do if he were hit by another person. He said, “I’d probably hit that person back.” I said, “Maybe rightfully so. But, when you hit that person back, does it escalate the situation or soften it?” He said, “We’d probably hit each other more.”

Then I asked him, “What would happen if you just walked away? Would that put the fire out?” He said, “Probably, I don’t know.”

I told him that he does know. “What Martin Luther King Jr. was saying is that the darkness is the hate. And you can’t conquer the darkness with hate. You can only fight the darkness/hate with light or love.”

I asked him if he knew what love is. I asked him if love was only that ooey gooey feeling you get when you’re with someone you like. He’s 11, so he didn’t answer me; instead he grabbed his ankles and made a joke.

I don’t want my kids to be disillusioned. I don’t want them to grow up believing that love is only something we can give to those who give us that feeling and those we are related to, but that love is something that we can give to everything and everyone regardless of how we feel.

While love can be identified as a feeling, we also need to understand that we can love without feeling anything at all. I believe that sometimes, especially when we don’t feel accepted or heard, we forget that love is patient, kind, that it holds no record of wrong and that it is not self-seeking.

And that, that kind of love, more than anything else in the world, is what drives out hate because when we are patient and kind, when we are not self-seeking and when we hold no record of wrongs, we are a place, a person, who can accept others and give them a place to be heard.

There is so much hate, disguised as love, being thrown around that we may completely lose sight of what love is. I don’t know how to fix it.

But I do hope that by sitting in the pitch-black bathroom with my 11-year old son that I planted a seed within him that will grow into something that resembles kindness, patience, selflessness and holds no record of wrongs. I hope that he, like his sisters, will come to understand that there are many, many people who will share their varying viewpoints throughout their lifetime. I hope that they will be the type of people who can say, “I can see you’re angry and in need of a safe place. Sit. Let’s talk about it.”

The post Driving out darkness in the bathroom first appeared on SJO Daily.

“Dr. King was about civil right for his people. He gave a message of hope. It’s important to pause and remember who he was as a person and activist, and not just an icon,” Museum of the Grand Prairie’s Education Programs Specialist Katie Snyder said.

The Museum’s “School’s Out: Martin Luther King Day Celebration” will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on January 21. The staff has crafts, a scavenger hunt, books and videos available for visitors.

Children will have an opportunity to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s words through a craft that showcases his quotes.

In the spirit of King’s empowerment, the Champaign County Forest Preserve has teamed up with the Champaign County Coalition for Trauma and Resilience to provide rocks for children to paint, then to spread throughout the community.

Snyder said the rocks will have the Coalition’s information on the back so that if someone finds the rock and needs help, they will be able to connect.

“We always try to do something that furthers the work of Dr. King,” Snyder said.

Snyder also hopes that students will learn about Champaign County’s history and leaders during the Civil Rights movement through the scavenger hunt.

By getting to know some of the civil rights less-known leaders here locally, Snyder said that “(students) can understand that they too can become that person.”

The scavenger hunt, which has become a staple for events at the Museum of the Grand Prairie, also encourages visitors to become comfortable with exploring the museum and its exhibits.

Snyder said the taxpayers provide the funding for the museum, and it “belongs to the people.”

In the past, parents and children have enjoyed spending time together while reading a book about King or watching a video.

Registration is not necessary for the Martin Luther King Day Celebration, but Snyder said parents are required to stay with children during the event.

The post Museum of the Grand Prairie hosts free MLK Day Event first appeared on SJO Daily.