Corvallis takes Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day very seriously. In fact, although Dr. King's birthday technically is Jan. 15, observances begin about two weeks before and continue two weeks after the civil rights leader's actual birthday.

This year, a new community event is being added to the mix to address racism. The fight against racism was a hallmark of Dr. King's work. Although King was assassinated in April 1968, it's a fight that is far from over.

In mid-November, someone spray-painted violent racial epithets against African Americans on a rock, a sign and a fence at Corvallis High School. Police were unable to locate the vandal(s).

Roger Weaver, a member of the local Quaker community, was frustrated that there was no community organizing after the graffiti was discovered. He decided to get the Corvallis Friends and Rainbow Health Resources together with other groups in order to take a stand against the action.

"Unless the community is firm about showing that this kind of racism is not welcome, it's going to happen again," Weaver said.

On Jan. 15, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., that stand will take the form of a silent candlelight vigil against racism and homophobia. It will take place on the public sidewalk in front of the CHS rock and the fence where the graffiti was sprayed, on Eleventh Street between Pierce Way and Buchanan Avenue.

A Facebook invitation to the event already has brought more than 50 online confirmations. Many more people have informed Weaver that they plan to attend. Corvallis School District Superintendent Dawn Tarzian sent an e-mail to district employees, encouraging them to attend.

"We're expecting quite a crowd," Weaver said.

Linus Pauling Middle School teacher Lisa Krause used the spray painting incident as a way to talk to her seventh- and eighth-grade students about racism in the community. She asked students how many of them would have volunteered to go to the high school and help scrape off the offending words. Most of them raised their hands.

"Students seem pretty protected in Corvallis," Krause said. She wanted her middle school students to be aware that racist things were happening at the high school that many of them will attend in a few years.

"I certainly think it's an appropriate part of their education" to recognize racist and homophobic language and actions and to take a stand against it, she said. Although some might view the spray paint as an isolated incident, "There's plenty of evidence to indicate it's not." That evidence includes the hate speech that she hears in school hallways and on the street.

"If we do nothing, our silence supports that," she said.

The anti-racism event is sponsored by Rainbow Health Resources and co-sponsored by Veterans for Peace, Chapter 132, Out-N-About, Corvallis Alliance for Diversity, Corvallis/Albany PFLAG, CVHS GSA, Gay/Straight Alliance of CHS and Corvallis Friends Meeting.

MLK EVENTS PLAN

A number of local events sponsored by the Corvallis Martin Luther King Jr. Commission are taking place over the next week as part of the city's annual effort to honor the slain civil rights leader.

The events kick off at 1 p.m. Thursday with a performance by the Jefferson Dancers, a nationally known, multi-ethnic dance group from Jefferson High School Academy of Arts and Technology in Portland. They perform at the Oregon State University LaSells Stewart Center for an audience of local middle and high school students.

They'll perform again at a public celebration of Dr. King at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Majestic Theatre, 115 S.W. Second St. The event will also include a keynote address by Ben Harrison on "Building the Global Beloved Community: The Dream That Will Not Die."

Harrison, formerly the diversity specialist at Hewlett-Packard's Corvallis campus, is now retired and living in Arizona, but is a consultant on workplace diversity and human resource differences and speaks on those topics in a variety of venues. Earlier in the day, he will hold a workshop at the Greater Albany School District Office on "Catalysts for Change: A Bird's Eye View of Leadership, Power and Privilege." The workshop takes place from 8:30 to

10 a.m.

Also Thursday, the winner of this year's high school essay contest will be announced. Sixteen students wrote an essay on the topic, "If you were Mayor, what would you do to promote respect for diversity and the elimination of prejudice and discrimination in Corvallis? Write this in terms of Dr. King's vision of the 'Beloved community.'" The winner will receive a $1,000 college scholarship.

These events are all sponsored by the Corvallis Martin Luther King Jr. Commission, which was established to plan the annual memorial celebration.

Additionally, the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Children's Celebration will take place Jan. 18 from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Majestic Theatre. It is sponsored by the Corvallis Montessori School. And on Jan. 19 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., a celebration of Dr. King through art and poetry will take place at Old World Deli. The poetry reading will be from 8 to 9:30 p.m.

- Theresa Hogue

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL

Stand in Silence and Candlelight Against Racism and Homophobia: 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 on the sidewalk in front of Corvallis High School, on Eleventh Street between Pierce Way and Buchanan Avenue. Bring your own candles and signs of protest. Carpooling and walking is suggested, as the event takes place near the time of high school basketball games. Parking on Pierce is suggested.