Program honors slain leader, historic figures

Fort Scott Community College student Glory Reichard recites her poem titled 'The Key,' for a small group of people Monday afternoon in the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the FSCC campus. FSCC awarded prizes to winners of the first-ever Martin Luther King Jr. Poetry Competition. Students submitted poems inspired by King's 'I Have Been to the Mountaintop' speech. A panel of judges chose the top three poems from a group of entries. The award-winning poets read their entries as part of the college's all-day celebration of the noted civil rights leader. The celebration featured several events to honor and remember King, including film screenings, a theater performance and praise dance. (Jason E. Silvers/Tribune)

Spirituals, readings, praise dancing with history sprinkled in made up the evening celebration of Martin Luther King Day at Fort Scott Community College Monday.

An estimated 70-100 people turned out for the program titled "I Rise: A estimony of Commitment and Sacrifice for Civil Rights" performed at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on campus. Reed Hartford gave the invocation. Robert Nelson, an FSCC board member who also helped organize the celebration, sang "Precious Lord," accompanied by Carolyn Tucker.

LaTonya Morton and Clara Barner from United Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Scott were the praise dancers. Against a backdrop of historic photos and slides, Matt Bollig, Dallas Buck, Shaylynn Clements, Chavez Gaynor, Tosha Guffin, Arthur Rucker, Saber A'ly Weekly and Levi Weilert performed "I Rise," a mixture of songs, speeches, poetry and history.

Dean of Instruction Donna Estill reads an untitled poem written by FSCC December graduate Roderick Davis at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the Fort Scott Community College campus. The poems were part of a day-long celebration of the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.(Jason E. Silvers/Tribune)

Dean of Instruction Donna Estill noted this was the students' "last night of freedom" before spring classes started today, but they chose to perform as part of the day-long King celebration.

This was the first remembrance of the slain civil rights leader's life hosted by FSCC.

Estill said 20-25 people were involved in the production. "I've never had so much fun with a committee before," she told the audience.

"It was really nice. We had a really good time today," Estill said. "I think the 'I Rise' title was very appropriate."

She added some good films were shown and it was uplifting. Some of the films included the documentaries "In Remembrance of Martin" and "King" and the feature film "The Long Walk Home," starring Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg.

She said she and Nelson are already talking about planning a King celebration for next year.

Nelson said previous Martin Luther King Day activities have been held in Fort Scott, but this was the first attempt at doing something at FSCC. "I think it's gone quite well and I hope it's something we'll be doing annually," Nelson said.

He said the important thing about this edition of "I Rise" was student involvement. "If we can do that, we're reaching our goal. The more we can get students involved, the more appreciation they'll have for Dr. King and what he was about," Nelson said.

Rucker spoke as Tuskegee Airman T.R. Davidson. According to the Tuskegee Airmen Inc. website, the Tuskegee Airmen were "dedicated, determined young men who enlisted to become America's first black military airmen, at a time when there were many people who thought that black men lacked intelligence, skill, courage and patriotism."

Rucker said the play helped him learn more details about Davidson and civil rights figure Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus Dec. 1, 1965, according to Internet references. "I learned a lot of things. It was a good experience," he said.

Hartford and audience member Margo Davis both enjoyed the program.

"It was inspiring (and) awakening in reminding us where we've come from, but also what we've yet to accomplish to fulfill our country's potential and heritage," Hartford said.

He said it ties in with the upcoming Fort Scott National Historic Site's activities marking the 150th anniversary of Kansas statehood and the anniversary of the start of the Civil War.

Prior to the war, he said, Kansas was fighting its own battle over slavery before the rest of the country got around to it.

Davis said she "totally enjoyed" the presentation.

"And I hope we have more things like it in the future," she said.