A common theme of unity, hope and support was echoed by Fort Lewis College students, faculty and staff who gathered Monday on campus to celebrate the life and legacy of American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.
An evening of events, including sign-making, a unity march and a screening of the 2013 movie The Butler was put on by the FLC Black Student Union.
BSU President Elijah Smith said celebrating MLK’s legacy and working toward policy changes should be a continuous effort – not just a one-day focus, and not only a priority when support efforts are trending.
“With Black Lives Matter, the message always goes trending on social media, right?” he said. “We saw rises in 2016, we saw rises in 2020 – but the message never changes. We always do the work. We always work on changes in policy, and we’re always advocating.”
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is known for leading a nonviolent movement in the late 1950s and 1960s aimed at achieving legal equality for African Americans in the United States.
King, known for his “I Have a Dream” speech, Nobel Peace Prize lecture and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” is the only non-president to have a national holiday dedicated in his honor and the first African American and non-president honored with an individual memorial on the National Mall.
His leadership played a key role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which protected voting rights and outlawed segregation.
King was assassinated April 4, 1968, at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 39.
The first nationwide observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day took place in 1986 after being signed into law by former President Ronald Reagan in 1983, making Monday the 40th year the holiday has been celebrated.
Black Student Union Outreach Coordinator Steve D Bradfield Jr. shared a message of unity and connection with the crowd gathered for the march.
“Dr. King could not have done it by himself,” he said. “It took a community. It took his family. He understood that it’s going to take all of us to make a difference on this campus or anywhere. ... You are not alone. We are not alone.”
Fort Lewis College President Heather Shotton joined the march alongside students, staff and faculty.
Shotton said she hopes students feel a sense of support from the celebration.
“I hope that what (students) take away is that they have an entire community – peers, faculty, campus leadership – that stand with them every day as we navigate what will be the uncertainties that we’re facing,” she said.
To freshman Gethsemane Lyons, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is about equality at its core. “It means equality in all aspects, not just skin color,” she said.
Lyons said students marching for what they believe in is more important now than ever.
“It’s actually crazy how things that are important, that made up our history, are trying to get erased,” she said. “This is a time when we should be promoting this more than ever.”
The Trump administration removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day from the National Park Service free entry days list, sparking concern for some that President Donald Trump would attempt to institute further restrictions on the federal holiday. Trump also removed Juneteenth from the list and replaced it with June 14 – which is his birthday and Flag Day.
Trump published an official statement on the White House website Monday reaffirming MLK Day as a federal holiday and urging Americans to “recommit themselves to Dr. King’s dream by engaging in acts of service to others, to their community, and to our Nation.”
Junior Sidney Nance said she came to the event because she feels unity is paramount at this moment in American history.
“Things in the world feel very isolating and like everybody has to fend for themselves, and I don’t think it should be that way,” she said. “I think we should all show up for everyone’s struggle, because at the end of the day, nobody is free until everybody is. So, I show up. I need to show up for everybody.”
Smith said he wants students to enjoy the day and celebrate the progress already made in civil rights in America while recognizing that the work is not done.
“Enjoy the day, celebrate the history and what we’ve done, because progress was made during the time, and it’s always good to reflect back and see goals that we have achieved,” he said. “But just know that we still have more to do, and that the job’s not finished.”
epond@durangoherald.com
