LSU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Night, held on Wednesday evening, featured the talents of several minority students at the University. 
There were ten performers all showcasing their own talents; the students sang, danced and read poetry. Students came out to honor and celebrate the memory of MLK and support their fellow students who were preforming. 
Students were able to sing covers of songs that they connected with. Some even sang original songs, such as mechanical engineering sophomore Christopher Haw.
“I am going to perform three of my original songs,” Haw said. “I put a lot of work into my music, so I like how LSU is giving me the opportunity to showcase it.”
The performers and students in the audience showed their support for MLK’s fight for equality.
“[MLK] represents to me a man that fought for equality that we are still fighting for today,” general business junior Alicia Grey said. “He is one of the founders of people starting to fight for it.”
This performance held more weight for many of the performers than other performances they’ve participated in. Not only are they showcasing their talents but they are honoring an important man in history.
“This is a week dedicated to MLK, so, when I do something like this, I try to have some type of meaning or context to my performance. I try and do that every year,” applied statistics graduate student Kareem Awad said. “He means a lot to me; being in my fraternity, I can see how the affect of civil rights has impacted LSU in particular. I am grateful to see minority percentage increase.” 
For many students, such as mass communication sophomore Kyrin Lewis, this performance was an important way to celebrate his culture. 
“To me, MLK day means rejoicing and celebrating in who you are and serving your community, your people and mostly serving yourself,” Lewis said. 
There are still more events happening this week to celebrate MLK and the presence he still carries today, including a Unity Reception on Thursday and a food drive continuing throughout the month of January.