Almost 42 years after Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death in 1968, citizens of Champaign-Urbana reflected on the progress Champaign County has made in achieving his dream.

Keith Harris, associate pastor for McKinley Church and Foundation, remarked on the basic changes in equality since segregation ended.

“Externally, a lot of things have progressed. I, as an African American, don’t need to worry about where I shop or eat,” Harris said. “But I still think there are a lot of barriers we still need to break.”

Like Harris, Patsy Howell, Urbana resident, said there is still more that needs to be done to alleviate the inequality against African Americans in the community. Howell and other community members think of Kiwane Carrington, a 15-year-old African American who was shot in an altercation with a Champaign police officer last October.

“If Dr. King were here, I’d imagine he’d fight for the truth in (the Carrington) case,” said Carol Ammons, member of Champaign-Urbana Citizens for Peace and Justice. “Carrington’s death will always haunt this community.”

On campus, others honored King at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday evening, where speakers reflected on King’s ideas and awarded scholarships in his name to local high school students.

The service included gospel readings and lively performances by a community choir made up of members from local churches.

Keynote speaker James Anderson, head of educational policy studies at the University, told the audience why Americans observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which has been a federal holiday since 1986.

“Dr. King’s vision is best described by the call for deep structural changes in our economic and political life,” Anderson said. “Changes that demand great economic costs and reordering of our priorities.”

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Advocacy for Justice Committee handed out eight scholarships to students from Centennial, Central and Urbana high schools. Kanitra Keaton, who received a scholarship in 1999, said her education and success was helped by King’s work and the scholarship.

“He believed that everyone should be given a chance to prove themselves worthy of living in a society that oppressed and opposed those who were different,” she said to the audience.

Menah Pratt-Clarke, interim assistant chancellor and director for the Office of Equal Opportunitiy and Access, said the programs helps students further King’s dream.

Because the University is an integral part of Champaign County, Harris, the community pastor, said community members are more open-minded today than they have ever been.

Howell said though King was known for his “I Have a Dream” speech, his ideals should be looked at more completely and taken into practice.

“His leadership and insight is much deeper than we can see,” Howell said. “What you’ll hear on his birthday is ‘I have a dream,’ but it’s too bad because he said more than that.”