Washington State University is featuring African American women’s voices in its keynotes to honor Martin Luther King.

The MLK Celebration Planning Committee has been working year-round to curate events in tribute to King’s legacy. Apart from other institutions, the university will be holding events throughout the spring semester to give students more chances to attend. The series of celebrations kicked off Tuesday, during the National Day of Racial Healing, but Allen Sutton said there are opportunities every day to practice being racially compassionate and empathetic.

Though Martin Luther King Day is one day on the calendar, the committee is continually planning projects throughout the year. Rather than scheduling events for one day, the committee uses Martin Luther King Day as an opportunity to begin cultural education for students, said Sutton, executive director for the Office of Social Justice Education and Outreach in Student Affairs and co-chairperson of the MLK Celebration Planning Committee.

“It’s a lot of work,” Sutton said, “We wouldn’t be able to achieve our goals or plan the amount of events we do if we didn’t have a year-round approach. We assess all our programs to make sure students get something out of attending events.”

Sutton said the reason MLK celebrations take place all semester is because there is so much ground to cover. He said it’s too much to fit into one day, and students may be too busy to attend some events. The committee’s goal is to teach people how to be racially compassionate and to provide cultural education. They make sure to have a wide range of topics to give students opportunities to participate in what the committee is trying to accomplish.

“We feel like the values and the things that Dr. King fought for and died for hold a lot more relevance that can’t be held within a week or a day,” Sutton said. “We want to ensure our students have as much opportunity to learn and grow in those areas as possible.”

The committee wants to teach students to be objective and think critically about racial issues that need to be addressed. Sutton said the work of diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice is under attack in America. Being aware of issues and the work Martin Luther King has done makes these types of programs even more important, he added.

“There’s this movement to say ‘there’s no such thing as racism in America,’ or ‘it’s not a big deal, it’s not an issue,’’’ Sutton said. “But it is. These issues need to be addressed and we can’t just sweep them under the rug.”

In past years, keynote speakers have primarily been male, Sutton said, and this year the committee wanted to highlight women’s voices in its celebrations. The committee found three keynote speakers, all women of color, to speak on social justice and racial education.

The university will bring in its first keynote speaker, Crystal Fleming, for a discussion on “How to be Less Stupid about Race” at the Elton S. Floyd Cultural Center at 6 p.m. Feb. 7. Michelle Coles will speak on “Past is Prologue: Uncovering Our Past Holds the Key to a Better, More Inclusive Tomorrow” at 5 p.m. March 1 via Zoom. Tekita Bankhead will be WSU’s final keynote speaker, discussing “Race-Related Trauma and Coping Culturally-Specific Mental Health Concerns and Strategies” at 6 p.m. March 28 via Zoom.

The committee also put together three service projects for the community to participate in. There was an MLK Day food drive Monday to help the Cougar Food Pantry and Community Action Center. People can still donate food to the pantry using bins located around campus.

The university will also be collecting books and magazines throughout the month to be distributed to local women’s shelters, homeless shelters and prisons. Sutton said shelters and prisons struggle to receive proper reading material, and by holding a book drive the university can offer materials to those in need. Items can be dropped off at designated bins located around campus.

Finally, the community can participate in Caring Cougar Cards at Butch’s Den from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Friday. People will be able to make cards for community partners across the U.S. to be sent to local hospitals, teen shelters and assisted living homes.

Though the National Day Racial Healing has passed, Sutton said there are always ways to support people of color.

“If you really want to support African American people, believe their stories and don’t feel like you have to walk a mile in their shoes,” Sutton said. “Nowadays, we have an empathy deficit. If you really want to help people of color, learn to be more empathetic and listen to their experiences.”

The WSU Office of Social Justice, Education and Outreach has resources for anyone wanting to learn about cultures around the world. They offer different types of training and ways people can become more inclusive of others. The office is also a resource for people of color who are looking for support. More information is available at diversity.wsu.edu.

To learn more about WSU’s Martin Luther King Day events, visit mlk.wsu.edu.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce.