WILKES-BARRE, Pa. -- Through dance, songs, and speeches, students, staff, and guests at King's College in Wilkes-Barre were reminded of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message.
"His main message was for unity," said Joele Charles, a senior at King's. "For blacks and whites to come together basically so there would be no animosity, no hate toward one another."
Ronald Felton is the president of Wilkes-Barre's NAACP branch and gave the keynote speech at the MLK Day celebration on campus. He said he has fought a lot for civil rights in our area and made progress.
"If you look at where the area was when I relocated here more than 30 years ago," said Felton. "Yes, there has definitely been forward progress. The city is more recognizable in terms of its diversity."
Felton hopes young people will turn to the teachings of Dr. King to keep moving forward and working toward his dream.
"Each of us have a little Dr. King in all of us and if we follow his message and his teaching than each one of us can have some impact and hopefully the opportunities for people to come together in different ethnicity that would help achieve it," said Felton.
Students at King's tell Newswatch 16 the message of the program will continue to maintain relevance in all aspects of their lives.
"Keep in your mind the end goal and what you want to manifest. Whether that be in the world or whether that be personally, so I feel that it's always better to keep in mind what you have as the end goal, and that will motivate you through the hard times," said Desmond Crosswell, a sophomore at King's.
Students with King's Multicultural and International Club will host more events that celebrate diversity this year:
- Friday, February 21, at 6:30 p.m. -- Come watch the movie "Harriet" and have a meal to celebrate Black History Month. Location: 3rd Floor Campus Center
- Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m. -- Holi: Celebrate the Festival of Colors. Location: Outside of the Scandlon Gym Rec. Center.