Poverty and hunger basis of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event at Southwestern

from KCBY

By Kristina Nelson
Coos Bay - Local students and community members are exposed to the problem of hunger around the world through a special event in honor of an influential political leader, who made it his goal to fight for human rights.

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, students and the community took part in a Hunger Banquet at Southwestern Friday evening.

Organized by students and faculty, the focus of the evening was to show the ongoing issue of poverty and hunger around the world.

"Dr. Kings big topics were racial injustice, poverty and the Vietnam war. So in celebration of his birthday, we decided to focus on poverty, and we're having this hunger banquet to help students can community members get a visual for what hunger looks like," says event organizer Julia Rose.

Attendants were broken into three income groups including high, middle, and low to show where the majority of the world's population falls.

Rose says the banquet opens up people's eyes to the role poverty and hunger play in the world and closer to home.

"I hope that this event shows that poverty is not just a problem far away but here, now as well. Over fifty percent of this county is at the poverty level and it's important for people to recognize that."

This event is one of many Southwestern will be hosting in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.