The Multicultural Student Action Committee (MSAC) has planned a trip to Little Rock, Ark. for the even Mega Kingfest on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 15.

MSAC is an organization of student leaders who set out to initiate, plan and implement programs that help increase the multi-cultural awareness on Harding’s campus. The committee is directed by Tiffany Byers. Although the committee is not active for the semester, Byers still plans on taking a group of students to the service that’s on Monday.

The group will be going to the 2018 Mega Kingfest, which is hosted by the Martin Luther King Commission in collaboration with the North Little Rock School District and the Arkansas Department of Education and it will be held at the North Little Rock High School’s Performing Arts Center.

This will be the first time that the event will be held since the separation of the King-Lee holiday that was signed into law in March of 2017. The event is aimed to be a community outreach project that is both educational and family-friendly. It will provide onsite community service projects and activities, and pay tribute to Dr. King’s legacy.

“The purpose of this effort is to promote understanding and acceptance of nonviolence and human equality,” Byers said.

According to Byers, the group is open to any student who has an interest in bringing cultural awareness to Harding. She plans to continue the trip each each and incorporate other activities.

The program helps to expose people to Martin Luther King’s legacy and to educate people how to help each other’s within their communities while learning about the values of equality that King expressed in his life.

Senior Taylor Flewellen was one of the participants last year and had a positive experience.

“This trip gave me a chance to embrace my black heritage,” Flewellen said. “It also gave me the chance to build cultural competence.”

She later explained that she would go again. She said it was a great experience to see how the African American community in Arkansas upholds King’s legacy in promoting social justice.

The event last year was hosted by Little Rock Central High School and there were more than 2,000 people that attended, with more watching the event online.

“I was able to reflect on the sacrifices of those who came before me and the opportunities the sacrifices allowed me,” Briana Byers said. “It inspired me to be more aware of the impact I can and should make in other’s lives.”