Correction: Kendra Neely-Gage won the Jefferson Award.

SEMO’s annual MLK dinner celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and the spirit of Ubuntu "I am because we are" with messages of daring to dream and “the creation of spaces that are reflective of America” at the Show Me Center on Jan. 25. The theme of this year’s dinner was “Coming Together: The Fierce Urgency of Now.”

Elementary, Early and Special Education Department chair and MLK planning committee co-chair Shonta Smith said the committee decided on the theme “Coming Together: The Fierce Urgency of Now” in response to current world events, including the Russia-Ukraine War and the recent arrest of five Memphis, Tenn., police officers under investigation for alleged use of excessive force in the death of Tyre Nichols during a traffic stop.

She said sometimes “as individuals, we just think about what's best for us” and not the entire world.

“What do we want this world to be? Each one of us has a responsibility to leave it better than we inherited it,” Smith said.

The dinner’s speaker was SEMO alum, former Regent and Jefferson Award winner Kendra Neely-Gage. Neely-Gage co-founded and is the executive director of BackPack to BriefCase Mentoring and Scholarship Program (BPBC), a program with an international reach that offers scholarships and mentorships to college students as well as according to their mission statement addressing gaps in inclusion, diversity and equity in the corporate world.

Neely-Gage’s speech encouraged students to practice setting goals and “envisioning your legacy” to create change in a workplace.

“Understanding this sacrifice [of envisioning your own legacy] is part of the reality of leadership, knowing that there may be lonely times, creating allyships, so that collectively, we can get into rooms that allow us to create the change,” Neely-Gage said.

She said students should push to create spaces “reflective of America,” including “race, gender, economic status, sexual orientation and religion.”

Neely-Gage spoke in a question-and-answer panel before the dinner in the Show Me Center Conference Room. She said being the best at what we can do can be “lonely,” but we owe it to our parents, community and our tomorrow.

“We're placed here for a reason, and you just do [owe it to them],” Neely-Gage said.

At the start of her speech, Neely-Gage coached the audience to embrace who they are and inspire those around them.

“I dare you to dream so big and so vivid that others may be inspired to dream with you while creating the change that is so desperately needed,” Neely-Gage said. “Whatever you do, dare to be bold, dare to be courageous and dare to not walk in fear of who your authentic self is.”

Psychology major Machale Shelton, who attended the celebration dinner, said an inspiring part of the speech he heard was we are better together. Shelton said it’s something to remember not just on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or during Black History Month.

“Every day on our day-to-day basis, remember that being together to work and collaborate and actually being there for each other and supporting one another is important,” Shelton said.

Musical theater major Peighton Robinson, accompanied on piano by her grandmother Alta Robinson, ended the dinner with her performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” She said she liked that Neely-Gage acknowledged her ancestors throughout the speech.

“I really love her connection with her family and her ancestors and respecting and honoring that,” Robinson said. “I just love that she made that a huge key point in her speech.”