As part of a celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the University community participated in a workshop titled “A Leader’s Legacy: Remembering the Reverend in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Learning From His Call to Lead” Wednesday. About 20 people attended the workshop, which was organized by the MLK committee, consisting of representatives of the Black Student Union, Office of Student Life, College of Education and Office of Multicultural Affairs.
The discussion, led by five panelists, focused on how King’s faith influenced his leadership style.
“So much is said about Dr. King’s leadership but is not related to the biblical basis of his actions,” senior Corey Mainor said. He said the workshop was “a re-emphasis of the ‘Reverend’ title of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
According to panelist Lijin Abraham, the purpose of the workshop was to study the qualities of King as a leader.
“Reverend King is the epitome of an effective God-fearing leader,” she said.
Quoting heavily from the Bible, panelists talked about different aspects of King’s leadership including perseverance, sacrifice and unity from a religious context. Mainor praised King for his perseverance in working to build the civil rights movement, saying the most important aspect of perseverance was finding advantages in the midst of disadvantages.
University senior and panelist Ndidi Unaka connected King’s frequent speeches with the Bible.
“In Genesis, God spoke everything into existence,” Unaka said. “Martin Luther King spoke to the hardships of the oppressed, he spoke God’s word to the masses.”
Junior Jason Floyd said King believed God would help him achieve his goals if he did what God wanted of him.
Apart from addressing elements of King’s leadership, workshop participants considered issues in contemporary society such as access to education, labor issues and affirmative action and how King might have approached the issues.
The workshop is part of a series of events that are scheduled to continue through Jan. 29. A poetry reading will take place Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Gerlinger Lounge; the Unity Reception occurs 6 p.m. Jan. 27 in the EMU Fir Room. Two workshops will also take place Jan. 28. The first, “Uprooting Injustice: Young People Transforming Democracy,” will begin at 4 p.m., with the location to be announced. The second, titled “Beyond Black America,” will be at 6:30 p.m. in the Multicultural Center, and will explore King’s impact on different social movements. The celebration will end with “Sweet Soul Music with Ron Paris” at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 29 in 180 PLC. Paris, a former member of the musical group The Platters, will present a lecture, slide show and a live performance.