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DeKalb County marks MLK Jr. Day By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Monument on Aug. 28, 1963, for his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, but that vision of equality has seen a “backlash in the past five years” in the form of the Ferguson riots and a black man being choked to death by police in New York City, according to LaVerne Gyant, director of the Northern Illinois University’s Center for Black Studies. “In the 60s, it was very easy. You knew upfront white only, black only,” Gyant said. “Today, it’s more covert, and it’s the impression everybody has [risen above the issue], and there’s no problem. In reality, that’s not true.” But amid talks of racial un-
If you go n WHAT: Interfaith service featuring readings and songs connected to Martin Luther King Jr. n WHEN: 5 p.m. today n WHERE: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 900 Normal Road
rest in parts of the country, celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day will be held across the country, including here in DeKalb County. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and New Hope Missionary Baptist Church are joining with several other churches to host an interfaith service that will feature music and sermons written and read by King himself. The service begins at 5 p.m.
today at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 900 Normal Road, DeKalb. “The music is from the black traditions of spirituals and the gospel tradition,” said Marilyn Cleland, a member of St. Paul’s and co-coordinator of today’s festivities. “This is a tradition that MLK himself was familiar with. The music is connected to King in the sense he did begin his life at Ebenezer Baptist Church.” Having different churches and ideologies coming together is part of King’s “Beloved Community.” “It’s an idea that people have come together both through the civil rights movement, and a movement not only of Christ, but welcoming people of all faith,” Cleland said. “As MLK understood it, it was something that was encompassing of peo-
ple that are working toward a genuine understanding and commitment of each other, and to helping each other.” She said there are plans to eventually include all religions represented in DeKalb County in a MLK church service. Joseph Mitchell is co-pastor of New Hope with his father, Leroy. He said some of King’s ideals have “fallen by the wayside,” but his impact can be seen everywhere. “We have an African-American president. To me, that has a lot to do with his speeches and marches and the things he worked for in the country,” Mitchell said. “I also look around, and with the civil unrest, there’s still work that needs to be done.” To help the conversation of
See MLK, page A8
Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
Clinton Rosette seventh-grader Halle Beverly, 13, signs a piece of the Martin Luther King Jr. dream wall Friday in the cafeteria at lunch. Pieces of the dream wall also were available to sign at DeKalb High School, Sycamore Middle School and Huntley Middle School. The pieces will be reconnected and displayed at MLK events at Northern Illinois University.
DEKALB-SYCAMORE CO-OP BOYS SWIM TEAM HELPS PACE ATHLETES PREPARE FOR MEET
Obama to pitch plan for middle class in address By JULIE PACE The Associated Press
Photos by Danielle Guerra – dguerra@shawmedia.com
DeKalb-Sycamore co-op swimmer Mitchel Meares (right), a sophomore, helps Pace team member Mike Thayer, 34, with timing his breathing Sunday at the Huntley Middle School pool.
Training for qualifier By ADAM POULISSE apoulisse@shawmedia.com
DeKalb-Sycamore co-op swimmer Edith Reynolds, also a member of the DeKalb County Pace Special Olympic swim team, swims the breast stroke for official time Sunday in the Huntley Middle School pool. The DeKalb-Sycamore co-op boys swim team was on hand to help DeKalb County Pace, the county’s Special Olympic swim team, record official times for their meet in March.
DEKALB – Lisa Steinbis waited at the end of her lane, ready to kick off and swim to the other side of the pool. The high school announcer told the swimmers to get ready, and with the sound of a buzzer and the flash of light, the race began. Volunteers were at the opposite end, recording times. Sunday’s gathering at Huntley Middle School, 1515 S. Fourth St., had all the ingredients of the Special Olympics state qualifying meet – but that isn’t until March 5. Instead, Sunday’s meet was a joint venture between the DeKalb-Sycamore co-op boys swim team and the lo-
cal Special Olympics team, Pace, where high school students helped Special Olympics athletes train for the big qualifier. The times recorded Sunday will help better divide athletes in similar categories in March. “I just listened to my coach,” said Steinbis, 29, of Five Points. “I have to kick faster and move my arms.” Ten high school swimmers helped about 20 Special Olympics athletes by either announcing the race, recording times or improving their swimming techniques inside the pool. The setting mirrored what athletes will experience at the state qualifier, from the touch pads at the end of
See SWIM, page A8
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is turning to his biggest TV audience of the year to pitch tax increases on the wealthiest Americans and put the new Republican Congress in the position of defending top income earners over the middle class. As Obama continues to signal what he will propose during Tuesday’s State of the Union address, senior administration officials said during the weekend that he will call for raising the capital gains rate on top income earners and eliminating a tax break on inheritances. The revenue generated by those changes would fund new tax credits and other cost-saving measures for middle-class taxpayers, officials said. Tax increases are rarely welcomed by congressional Republicans, who now hold majorities in the House and the Senate for the first time in Obama’s presidency. Obama’s tax proposals will likely be dismissed, if not outright ignored, by lawmakers outside the Democratic Party’s liberal base. “Are they going to agree on everything? Absolutely not. I think we should have a debate in this country between middle class economics and trickle-down economics and see if we can come to an agreement on the things we do agree on,” White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” He said the theme of the speech would be “middle-class economics.” Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., said he had heard all five of Obama’s State of the Union addresses, which are filled with proposals both good and bad. But he said the president has fallen short by failing to establish close ties to Congress. “He’s never reached out to Congress and Democrats will tell you the same thing. You can’t get your proposals done unless you’re willing to have a relationship with an important branch of government,” Kinzinger said on ABC’s “This Week.” Obama also is expected to call for lawmakers to make community college free for many students, increase paid leave for workers and enact broad cybersecurity rules. Administration officials disclosed details on the tax proposals on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the proposals by name ahead of the president’s speech. The centerpiece of the president’s tax proposal is an increase in the capital gains rate
See OBAMA, page A8
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