In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Center for Inclusion and Diversity, student organizations and the city of Natchitoches hosted a series of events to give back to the community.
Beginning on Jan. 16 to Jan. 20, these organizations hosted events each day. The city hosted its annual MLK march and donated $250 as an incentive for organizations to participate in the service events. Other events included a movie screening and various service, informative events.
Each year, CID hosts these events for students to participate and take part in Martin Luther King’s mission. Jasmine Wise, the coordinator for CID, said she hoped students take the time to appreciate the significance of the celebration.
“It’s easy to take that for granted because of where we come from, but I think it’s a day to remember and pause that some people fought for this, some people lost their lives, some people marched,” Wise said. “People made conscious decisions to make America more equitable.”
For the second year, CID recognized a leader in the community and honored them on Jan. 20, 2025, during the Demons basketball game. This year they honored Nicole Gray.
Gray is an alumna of NSU and founded the Black Alumni Alliance. She serves on the Board of Directors for the NSU Foundation, Demons Unlimited Foundation and the Ben Johnson Educational Center. She is the organizer of the James Oliphant Memorial Golf Tournament, which funds the Endowed James Oliphant NSU Football Scholarship in honor of her father, and is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
For Gray being recognized by CID was a humbling experience. “Recognizing the work of community leaders demonstrates appreciation for the time, resources and commitments they’ve made to furthering the mission of their respective organizations,” she said.
She also added that recognizing community leaders can help shed light on the projects they might be working on and open doors for the community to collaborate with them.
Student organizations like the African American Caucus and the NSU chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People help CID coordinate the service events. NAACP’s president shared the impact he wants NAACP to have in the community.
“Through initiatives like the Nursing home Bingo event and participation in the MLK Days of Service, we hoped to foster a spirit of unity, compassion and community service,” Travis Rachal, sophomore sports and recreation management major, said.
Rachal saw these events as inspiring. To him, serving all year round is something people should do more often to carry along King’s legacy. “Dr. King emphasized the importance of serving others as a way of improving the world around us,” he said.
