Living Legacy: The Day MLK Came to Naperville

By Michelle Dellinger
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A panel discussion at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 16, 2020

November 21 marks the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech to the North Central College community in 1960—a pivotal event in the ongoing work of Naperville residents at the forefront of the city’s civil rights crusade.

Join Naperville magazine editor and moderator Michelle Dellinger for a panel discussion centered around Dave Hoekstra’s feature, “Living Legacy.” Hoekstra, a Naperville native, researched MLK’s visit for a fascinating cover story in the magazine’s November issue. Other event panelists include sources he interviewed:

• Rev. Bob Burkhart is a retired pastor who heard Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech when he was a senior at North Central College. Inspired by Dr. King’s speech, he became engaged in the civil rights movement in the ’60s and throughout his career became involved in additional issues of peace and justice.
• Dave Hoekstra is an award-winning Chicago journalist and a 1973 graduate of Naperville Central High School. He has written several books, including Reminiscences From the Civil Rights Era to Today. He wrote and coproduced the 2001 Emmy-nominated The Staple Singers and the Civil Rights Movement for WTTW-Channel 11 in Chicago.
• Dr. Ann Keating is an author and North Central College professor of history who provides commentary on the college community and national sentiments as the civil rights movement in the ’60s unfolded.
• Rev. Dr. Lynn Pries was the North Central College campus chaplain from 1994 to 2014, who was part of the 50^th anniversary commemoration of King’s visit in 2010, featuring acclaimed activist-author Cornel West.
• Tina Wetzel is the daughter of Rev. George St. Angelo, the minister and chaplain who invited MLK to speak at North Central College, who discusses her parent’s civil rights work and the threats her family faced.
• Dr. Benny White is Naperville’s first African American city councilman, elected in 2017, who has been actively involved in the city’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. He is a West Point graduate and veteran and a former board member of Indian Prairie School District 204 and the Fire and Police Commissioners.

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