Jemele Hill originally joined ESPN as a national columnist for espn.com but later began appearing on television, including SportsCenter. | facebook.com/jemelehillworks
Jemele Hill originally joined ESPN as a national columnist for espn.com but later began appearing on television, including SportsCenter. | facebook.com/jemelehillworks
According to a news release from Illinois State University, its Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Dinner has been rescheduled for Feb. 25, with journalist Jemele Hill giving the keynote address for the event, to be held in the Brown Ballroom at the Bone Student Center.
“Hill’s 20-plus year journalism career has included stops at the biggest sports media network and several reputable newspapers,” according to the university’s news release. “She originally joined ESPN in 2006 as a national columnist for espn.com. Her profile gradually rose as she began to make appearances on television, including SportsCenter, First Take, Around the Horn, The Sports Reporters, and Outside the Lines. She also spent a season as a sideline reporter for ESPN college football games.”
A number of events were held across Central Illinois to honor the late civil rights leader, according to CIPround.com. Jackie Haas, a candidate for the 79th District State House of Representatives seat, spotlighted an event in her area.
“Thank you to the MLK Jr. Memorial Foundation for hosting the Interfaith Celebration Prayer Breakfast and Interfaith Prayer/Ecumenical Ceremony,” she said in a Facebook post. “It was an honor to be invited to present the greeting at both events.”
In Peoria, the 30th annual MLK Celebration Luncheon/Virtual Program was held Jan. 17 at the Peoria Civic Center, according to CIProud.com. Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, delivered the keynote address at the luncheon. On that same day, Illinois Wesleyan University hosted its National Holiday Gospel Festival. On Jan. 15, the 46th Annual MLK Awards Program was held in Bloomington, according to the website, with honors recognizing members of the Bloomington and Normal communities.
“The theme of the virtual event is “What’s Going On?” according to the website. The featured speaker at the program was Tony Waller, the vice president of Constituent Relations and Racial Equity at Walmart.
The day honors King, who according to The King Center website, was at the forefront of the civil rights movement from December 1955 until his assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tenn. The website also noted that King in 1957 was selected to lead the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
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