Students, faculty, and community members from different backgrounds gathered to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy Tuesday night at Gerlinger Lounge. The Martin Luther King Jr. Unity Celebration drew about 60 people.
The event, hosted by the University’s Black Student Union, opened with the singing of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” University Senior Vice President and Provost Carla Gary gave the keynote address. Gary stressed the need to continue following in
King’s footsteps.
“We must never forget that we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us,” Gary said. “Our obligation is not to say ‘thank you’; it is to be thankful in our actions.”
Gary encouraged attendees to make the most of the opportunities and freedoms that they have been given.
“Can we afford to
marginalize our hope and our future?” Gary said. “Make the most of this opportunity to stay true to the power of hope. Honor the dream by living it.”
Gary added that everyone is “each other’s keeper.”
“We don’t have to like each other all the time, we don’t have to agree with each other all the time, but we must be each other’s supporters in every way we can,” she said.
English major Cory Mainor was the student speaker and encouraged people to take action to fulfill their purpose, advising attendees to “find out who you are, find out what defines you, and then act accordingly.”
“That mentality of grumbling over the circumstances that we’re facing needs to die,” Mainor said. “We can either complain or we can act.”
African Student Association Director Haben Woldu also addressed the group and urged participants to consider Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a holiday for all Americans, not just blacks. “There’s a great turnout this year, but in the past we’ve never had this many people show up,” she said.
Black Student Union co-Director Tremaine Thompson agreed.
“We’ve been getting more and more people,” in the past four years, Thompson said.
Thompson, who started planning the event in October, said he thinks people are getting more involved in diversity issues.
Afterward, the attendees participated in a candlelight vigil, walking around the EMU singing “We Shall Overcome” and then gathering in the EMU Amphitheater.
“It’s an ongoing struggle,” Thompson said. “What (King) envisioned was more than just a race thing. It was a unity thing. His religion let him believe that we all should get along and everything should be equal.”

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