Ohio University held a silent march and a brunch to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on his 93rd birth anniversary. The event, which was earlier scheduled for Jan. 15, was postponed until Jan. 22 due to extreme weather conditions.
Around 10:30 a.m., an excited crowd gathered in front of Galbreath Chapel on College Green to participate in a customary silent march. While locking their hands, the crowd paraded toward the Baker University Center, where it concluded with releasing balloons to commemorate those who lost their lives in these difficult times.
Jesean Williams addresses the crowd before he leads the Martin Luther King Jr. silent march outside of Galbreath Chapel on January 22, 2022, in Athens, Ohio.
After a while, everyone proceeded to attend the brunch in Baker Center Ballroom, sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Division of Diversity and Inclusion and MLK Jr. Celebration Committee.
“I am the only Alpha on the campus, that’s why this event means so much to me because we usually have a lot of brothers and now I am the only one on the planning committee of the MLK event,” Jesean Williams, president of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, said.
The theme for this year was UNITY, CommUNITY and OpportUNITY. After celebrating MLK week virtually last year, Gigi Secuban expressed her excitement about continuing the tradition.
“I'm excited that even though we are in fewer numbers than we have been in the past, we gathered in person today to continue the tradition of celebrating and honoring the life and legacy of one of our country's social justice giants,” Secuban said.
Athens community members as well as students and staff of Ohio University gather in front of Baker Center and release balloons in remembrance of those who lost their lives to the Covid-19 pandemic after the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. silent march in Athens, Ohio, on Jan. 22, 2022.
Secuban also took a moment to highlight the steps OU has taken this year toward creating a more inclusive and equitable environment. She also mentioned the campus climate survey conducted in fall 2021 received participation from over 2,300 OU members, a number she was proud to announce.
“The plan which was designed to operationalize diversity, equity and inclusion across the university explicitly identifies the community's commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion and offers our community a comprehensive framework and process for identifying action ideas each year for immediate implementation,” Secuban said to the crowd.
The event shed light upon challenges faced by non-white communities and the significance of civil rights in America. The brunch went beyond sharing good speeches and striking soundbites, it catered to a vast audience from different backgrounds and ethnicities. Inclusion was at the very heart of this day, and the speaker for the event, Patricia Russell-McCloud, a lawyer and an entrepreneur, reflected this emphasis on inclusion.
Her speech started with a rhetorical question: “What happens to a dream deferred?” This was once asked by Langston Hughes, an American poet and social activist. Along with the discourse, Russell-McCloud shared some interesting anecdotes from her childhood while reminding the audience of the strength they carry within themselves to become the pioneers of a change.
“The world needs dreamers, and the world needs doers,” Russell-McCloud said. “But above all, the world that needs dreamers who do, who engage in the possible (and) don't live down to someone else's expectations.”
The names Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Denmark Vesey, Dred Sam Scott and Emmett Till were remembered, along with Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. She compared racism in America to rain, which is either falling or somewhere gathering. Russell-McCloud concluded her speech by reciting the poem “New Day’s Lyric” by Amanda Gorman, a 22-year-old poet and activist.
The event proceeded with a song performed by Keilah Causey and a dance by Ania Fuller, both students at OU.
The celebration evoked heaps of emotion among the audience. Hugh Sherman, president of OU, also acknowledged institutional racism.
“Ohio University is committed to increasing our campus culture to be as inclusive as possible for all people,” Sherman said. “We stand for the principles of social justice and equity.”
