Donna Brazile said Martin Luther King’s legacy is stronger nowadays than it has ever been.

Brazile, the former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, was the keynote speaker at this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day luncheon. Diverse members of the greater Evansville community filled every seat in Carter Hall making it the largest in the event’s history.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law 66 years ago and has come to represent a day where citizens examine and reflect on civil rights issues.  

“We have to understand our nation’s history, and there was a lot of pain. What we have to do is acknowledge it. Take ownership of it, so we don’t replicate it,”  said President Ronald Rochon.

The ‘Together We Win’ luncheon gave attendees the chance to honor the progress made and recognize what needs to be accomplished.

“Speaking at an MLK Jr. event makes me emotional,” Brazile said. “Because it reminds me of how far we’ve come and how far we have to go.”

Brazile spoke for an hour about King’s movement and how to carry his message today.  

“In the great darkness of our world, we need the light…from a deep well of sorrow, we can draw upon the waters of hope and courage. King would want us to be a part of a future that will lift up every child,” Brazile said.

“Nearly four times as many liberals as conservatives say it is important that their community has racial and ethnic diversity,”  according to a study by Pew Research.

Racial and ethnic issues bring the holiday’s meaning to the forefront which is something Martin Luther King Jr. fought for, leading Brazile to say King was about love and that we need to love our enemies.

President of the Student Government Association Brad Flittner told a childhood story about encountering diversity.

“In a world too focused on becoming color blind, we often forget how amazing it can be to become color embracive,” Flittner said.