As part of a celebration to commemorate the birth of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., an ISU professor is planning a presentation to shed light on leaders often left in obscurity.

“I want to certainly talk about Dr. King, but also the movement that he spearheaded, and the people who did the work of that movement,” said Katherine Charron, assistant professor of history.

Charron will deliver a speech titled “Standing Behind Dr. King” during a celebration Thursday afternoon in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union, much of which will be based on her own research of Septima Clark, a civil rights leader.

“Clark’s a good example of someone who did great things for the Civil Rights Movement, but isn’t mentioned so much,” Charron said. “She worked in the citizenship education program for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. She trained local community people to become civil rights organizers.”

She said learning about figures such as Clark paints a more complete picture of the movement.

“The more we find out about these other people, the better,” she said. “Because of what was happening, people were being transformed on a personal level. It took a lot of guts to attend a march or a demonstration. It could get you killed.”

She said progress made during the movement hinged on the efforts of normal citizens.

“It was regular people who had to exact the change,” she said. “This is about empowering ordinary people to have a voice in the decision that shaped or affected their every day lives.”

Government of the Student Body President Angela Groh, who will also give a speech at Thursday’s celebration, said students may lose sight of the importance of King’s work because it happened before most students were born.

“I would say that it would be hard for anyone to comprehend the enormity of what he was able to do, let alone someone born decades after his death,” she said. “It’s possible that to some extent students take [King’s work] for granted because they don’t know anything different.

That’s why we have these events, so you understand that when you step into classrooms and learn about different perspectives, that we have a greater appreciation for those who came before us.”

Kelly Simmons, senior in psychology, said she thinks many students don’t understand the magnitude of King’s accomplishments.

“I think a lot of people just see it as a day off,” Simmons said. “Not just black students or not just white students, but students in general don’t realize what he did for all of us.”

The Boys and Girls Club of Ames, 210 S. 5th St., will host a Martin Luther King Jr. community birthday party on Monday.

Ron Chieves, program director for the Boys and Girls Club, said the event, which could attract as many as 200 children and 150 to 200 adults, will feature speakers, music and birthday cake.

“I think the people that attend realize that here at the Boys and Girls Club is Dr. King’s dream,” he said.

“We have kids from every race, social and religious background and they’re playing and having fun.”