MLK Youth Rally celebrates 30 years of empowering local kids [Video]

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – It was an afternoon meant to empower, educate, and inspire at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Union on Sunday.

Ahead of MLK Day on Monday, the teachings of the man who inspired the holiday were interpreted and shared by Lincoln students at the MLK Youth Rally.

“It’s not just a long weekend,” Peter Ferguson, the Lead Adult Advisor for the event, said. “It’s an opportunity for us to sit back, but also step forward and walk together. And that’s what this rally is about.”

The event is a community staple, with this January marking its 30th anniversary.

“You know when it gets to about five degrees out it’s rally time,” Ferguson said. We’re here just honoring, recognizing, celebrating, and reflecting.”

The rally part of the ceremony is a two-hour program built upon the ideas of students grades K-12. They shared speeches, stories of historical civil rights figures, …