Harris, a junior in mechanical engineering from Carbondale, has performed at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast for four years. It is an honor for him to commemorate the civil rights activist.

As a young adult, it gives me the opportunity to participate in something that makes a difference, he said. He not only fought for the rights of blacks, but for all mankind.

The 15th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, sponsored by the Carbondale Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, drew more than 200 people to Grinnell Hall Monday.

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The program included the Rev. Joseph Brown, director of Black American Studies, as guest speaker. Local elementary, middle and high school students performed musical selections and read essays in King’s honor.

King is the only African-American whose birthday is honored as a holiday. It became a national holiday in 1986.

King was one of the most influential leaders of the civil rights movement prior to his 1968 assassination. Among other historic events, King led a march on Washington, where he gave the I Have a Dream speech, and a boycott on Montgomery, Ala., bus system.

Lekiewa Rasberry, member of the SIUC chapter of the NAACP, said King had more than a dream. It is the duty of African-American organizations to provide ceremonies for people to realize the true relevance of the holiday.

This is the day that we should try to focus on what we are doing, and how we are going to solve some of the problems in the black community, she said. We need to try to change the face of America. It’s not about dreaming. We’ve been dreaming. It’s time to wake up.

Sharmayne Porter, a fifth-grader at Thomas Middle School, is thankful for King’s dream. King’s crusade helped make it possible for her to sing I Believe I Can Fly before the diverse audience Monday.

I picked [the song] because Martin Luther King had a dream, she said. Martin Luther King’s birthday means a time for us to get together and have fun because we are free.

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Nancy Dawson, assistant professor of Black American Studies, was impressed with all of the students’ knowledge about the civil rights activist.

It is important that everyone learn about their history so the spirit of leaders does not fade away.

It’s important for us to keep the spirit of Martin Luther King alive, she said. Everyday I live the dream of Martin Luther King. And I think that it is important that at a young age these children have this vision.

Living King’s vision, Abby Kidd, an eighth-grader at Lincoln Middle School, said she does not care about a person’s race or color because everyone is equal.

It makes me happy that I was able to contribute to this day, she said. It means freedom, and that we are all equal and are to be treated the same as everyone else.

Brown said the holiday should not be the only day to reflect on history.

We are celebrating all these years of agitation, he said. Our history is a teaching that will heal. We’ve got to change the way we look at things to get to where we got to go.