T-burg celebrates legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Trumansburg celebrates Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 16 at the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts, 1 Congress St., Trumansburg, with an interactive event titled, “Joining the Conversation: An Interactive Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.”

The public is invited to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy of nonviolence through hands-on education, art, writing activities and discussion for people of all ages.

“The intention of the event is to bring people together to celebrate Dr. King’s life,” said Planning Board member Rachel Kennedy. “Participants will be invited to join in activities presented in collaboration with many area nonprofit organizations. The AntiRacists in Enfield will facilitate a guided space for participants to reflect on the influence of racism and white privilege in contemporary society, and Postcards and Coffee will share materials and tools for connecting with public officials and opportunities to help fight voter suppression in communities of color.”

Thomas Joyce, member of the event’s Planning Committee and member of the AntiRacists in Enfield, explained, “This summer, a group of Trumansburg churches started talking and networking about an idea to have an event that would be educational.”

“We wanted an event that did more than celebrate the life of Martin Luther King and served just to pat ourselves on the back for having it,” he said. “We wanted an event [that emphasizes] the teachings of Dr. King and his nonviolence stance on conflict resolution.”

Ulysses Philomathic Library will be offering a selection of relevant books for the community to borrow, said Library Director Rachel Mielenhausen.

“This event is facilitated by a group of community volunteers who saw our annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday as an important opportunity to continue discussions surrounding racism and nonviolent principles of organizing in a setting that is friendly and welcoming to adults, teens and families with young children,” Mielenhausen explained. “We will also have resources at the event to sign up for a library card right on the spot, along with the suggested books about the topic and racial equality.”

Tompkins County Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) will present its video of youth sharing their vision of what a more equitable Tompkins County would look and feel like. JEDI will provide the opportunity for young people to share additional thoughts on equity via written statements, drawings, video and audio recordings.

On Earth Peace will introduce participants to the six principles of nonviolence based on King’s writing and speeches.

“This event will feature educational materials by On Earth Peace as well as … opportunities for educational courses in the future that the group is offering,” Joyce said. “On Earth Peace has been exploring the idea of offering opportunities for the community to attend classes and courses that teach the Kingian principles of nonviolence conflict reconciliation. The training includes role playing, personal reflection exercises, multimedia, mini lectures and various interactive exercises.”

On Earth Peace will explore the difference between violence and nonviolence, Joyce said, adding that members will also cover “different types and levels of conflict and how they escalate and deescalate.”

“They will also cover the history of the civil rights movement and some of Dr. King’s philosophies,” Joyce said. “The orientation and workshop will be available to the community in various formats and can be explored and discussed with On Earth Peace at the event. This will allow the conversations about race and racial equality to continue far past the event.”

Joyce explained that the date of the event is Jan. 16 rather than Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 17) because it is easier to hold the event on a Sunday, making it more accessible to members of the community. Joyce said organizers wanted to make sure as many people as possible could attend this important event.

“We created this with a goal of keeping people talking and interactive about race relations,” he said. “We feel that for Trumansburg and the surrounding rural areas, it’s a topic that needs to be expanded on with continual conversations. We will be sharing our experiences of race-related issues as prompts for writing exercises at the event as well. There will also be the opportunity to make videos of those experiences at the event. There will also be videos shown at the event that were filmed prior by community members regarding their thoughts, feelings and experiences on race related issues.”

Trumansburg Middle School Social Justice Club students will be at the event to engage young participants in coloring activities related to Martin Luther King Jr. Trumansburg Area Churches (Ecumenical Council) will show intersectionality artwork.

Participants will be invited to share segments of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches via an open mic throughout the two-hour event. Community members are encouraged to read works of King’s that are meaningful to them at the celebration.

“We are hoping for a positive community reaction and a good turnout for the event,” Joyce said. “We are hoping to see this become a recurring event every year.”

Event information and updates can be found at tburgconservatory.org.

Trumansburg Connection appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.