‘A resilient nation’: Leaders stress importance of community at MLK Dinner
In a time of political division and change, state, Cook County and suburban leaders gathered Saturday for the 55th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Remembrance Dinner to reaffirm the importance of united communities.
Organized by the Arlington Heights-based Illinois Commission on Diversity & Human Relations, the event in Palatine featured Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch as keynote speaker.
“To me, a community is really about creating a sense of belonging,” he said. “That we’re a part of something larger than ourselves. The need for community is deeply rooted in our biology.”
Political campaign seasons like the one recently passed can stir up emotions that focus on other goals, he added.
“There will always be people seeking to divide us, but we’ll never let that happen,” he said. “This is a difficult time in our nation. But this is a resilient nation. Knowing this nation, I know we’re going to be fine.”
He invoked the theme of the 2019 book “The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek, which differentiates finite games that are quickly won or lost, like football, from generations-long strategies for success.
“We are still trying to achieve Martin Luther King’s vision. I think he knew it was something we were going to have to fight for into perpetuity,” Welch said. “What would Dr. King think? Or better yet, what would Dr. King do?”
He was succeeded at the podium by the Rev. Clyde Brooks, the founder of the commission and personal acquaintance of King who’s been organizing the dinner for more than a half a century.
“I have an answer to that question that you raised,” he told Welch. “I think he would be trying to help the comfortable understand they’re in the same boat as the uncomfortable. They just don’t know it.”
Elgin Mayor David Kaptain described his experiences of building community through volunteerism and communication.
“When you need help, ask for it,” he said. “When you don’t, give back.”
Among his examples of community-building was the response in Elgin to the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Rather than demonstrations, Kaptain said Elgin saw a united parade and community conversation that identified needed changes in policing. Some already were in progress, he said.
Honored at the dinner for demonstrating the “Drum Major Instinct” King spoke of by leading through example were Gwendolyn McNutt of Comcast Corporation and Amelia White of Southwest Airlines. Both play key roles at companies that have strongly supported the mission of Brooks’ commission for decades.