Take risks, be ready to put yourself on the line when the moment calls for it, be inclusive in your vision of 鈥渨e the people,鈥� and see the struggle against discrimination, racism and homophobia, against hatred of all kinds as your own. Those are some excerpts from the words of Glenn Guyton, executive director of Mennonite Church USA, speaking during 黑料正能量鈥檚 2022 Martin Luther King Jr Day Celebration of Service and Learning.
The university celebrated King鈥檚 legacy with a 鈥渄ay on鈥� rather than a 鈥渄ay off,鈥� President Susan Schultz Huxman noted in her campus convocation greeting. With most in-person events also offered in hybrid form because of COVID-19 and a nasty winter storm, Monday鈥檚 schedule offered multiple opportunities to explore both the action and consequences of 鈥渓ifting up鈥� one鈥檚 voice.
The theme, which also addresses the tragic outcomes of silence in the face of discrimination and hatred, was drawn from King鈥檚 text Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story (1958) by MLK Day committee chair and Director of Multicultural Student Services Celeste Thomas and members of the planning committee: 鈥淗istory will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.鈥�
Listen to more of Guyton鈥檚 words here: at a (beginning at 36:00), led by Reverend Kimberly Young of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Harrisonburg, and again at (beginning at 39:15).
Mayor Deanna Reed, who in her prominent local political office has been a very present champion during the city鈥檚 recent pandemic challenges, spoke at both events. She acknowledged the longevity of this current strain, how it has bared racial and social disparities, and the weariness with which we are persevering through yet another surge.
These are all reasons to be tired, to lack the energy to speak up, she said. But Proverbs 31 holds the admonition to speak up: Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
鈥淚 believe the spirit of Dr. King鈥檚 movement guided many of us, especially in the last two years,鈥� she said. 鈥淒r. King gives us the blueprint we need 鈥� for us NOT to sit back and be silent.鈥�
Reed was among the cast of actors telling the story of Emmett Till and Anne Frank, two teenagers both murdered by acts of hatred years apart, in Janet Langhorn Cohen鈥檚 play 鈥淎nne and Emmett.鈥� Read more about “Anne and Emmett” in local news coverage.
Among those speaking at the convocation was Talibah Aquil, a graduate of and instructor with the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, who will lead an intercultural trip to Ghana this summer for students of color. She reminded listeners to remember Coretta Scott King and her suffering, and the hard work of those who surrounded King on his journey. Learn more about and support the Ghana intercultural trip.
Members of the 黑料正能量 community were also invited to participate in a solidarity march, join reading circles to explore King鈥檚 texts, hear inspiring words from a former Black Student Union leader and current doctoral candidate, and learn about Virginia鈥檚 justice system was wielded against a local Black resident with history professor Mark Sawin, among other scheduled activities.