The 19th annual Martin Luther King Jr. March for Peace and Justice this Thursday is expected to be the largest march to date, said Jessica Louis, president of the NAACP NIU chapter.

The march, open to all in honor of Martin Luther King, will start at Stevenson North Residence Hall at 4 p.m. and will end at the Carl Sandburg Auditorium in the Holmes Student Center.

The keynote speaker of the event is BET’s Jeff “Cousin Jeff” Johnson. Some of the main organizations involved in the event include NIU’s NAACP chapter, Campus Activities Board and the Student Association.

Louis, a junior business administration major, said this year’s march will be significant due to the recent threat against the university.

“I think now, more than ever, students and the DeKalb community need to realize that racism is still real, and it still exists,” she said. “This will be a perfect opportunity to bring people together in the name of peace and togetherness.”

Though Louis said the main focus of the march is to honor King, she said the threat will most likely be mentioned.

“With this event, we want to honor Dr. King and his legacy,” she said. “We’re hoping to bring awareness to the campus and the community that racism is real, but at the same time, we have to be the ones to speak out against it.”

Louis said she wants to thank all who attend the march.

Toynika Williamson, a junior accountancy major and first vice president of the NAACP NIU Chapter said this is her first time attending the march. Williamson said she hopes this year’s march will make a change on campus.

“I think it is an important event because it gives us an opportunity to celebrate Martin Luther King as a leader and give him recognition for the things he did for minorities and blacks,” she said.

Jarvis Purnell, a senior industrial engineering and technology major and president of the Student Association, said the march is one of the precursors to the celebration of Black History Month.

“The different student organizations will come together to highlight Dr. King, as well as the movement,” Purnell said. “This event is one of our strongest opportunities to show, as a campus and especially for students, to come together in regards to peace and diversity.”

For more information, go to the Campus Activities Board Web site at www.niui/cab.edu.