Alcorn honors the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Alcorn honors the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As the national holiday approaches, the Alcorn State University Division of Student Affairs held a program “Honoring the Life and Times of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” Alcorn students, faculty, staff and administrators gathered in the James L. Bolden Campus Union Ballroom to reflect on his legacy on Tuesday, January 15.
Student Government Association President 2012-13 Marcus Mercy, a senior majoring in music, served as the master of ceremony, and Freshman Class President Luther Bolin, a criminal justice major, offered the invocation.
In his occasion, Director of Admissions and Recruiting Emanuel Barnes said, “Today, we pause to remember, reflect upon, and pay homage to the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Any person who have heard of Dr. King is familiar with ‘I Have a Dream’, but I would like to ask the younger generation how many of you are familiar with his other speeches like ‘Loving Your Enemies’, ‘Rediscovering Lost Values’, ‘Guidelines for a Constructive Church’ or “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life’? I would highly recommend them as they offer great insight into the actual man we affectionately refer to as Dr. King.”
The program continued with a spoken word piece “The Zs Come Later” by Diversity Champion Tony Innouvong, MBA student. In his poem, Tony emphasized that “now is the time to take action and rest later”. As a tribute to Dr. King, Larry Macklin, a senior music performance major, sang “A Change is Gonna Come” by Sam Cooke.
Marcus Griffin, a senior majoring in ag economics and a member of the Delta Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, stated, “We are elated to celebrate and honor the legacy of Dr. King, a man of distinction, who believed that there should be equality among all races, a selfless man who sacrificed so much so that future generations could have a better life. We thank you, Dr. King.”
Alcorn President M. Christopher Brown II served as the keynote speaker. He reminded the audience of the great work and accomplishments of Dr. King. Dr. Brown emphasized the influence of Medgar Wiley Evers ’52 on Dr. King and Civil Rights Movement, “Today, on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, we need to remember that before there was Martin, there was Medgar. Medgar woke us up and Martin moved us forward.” He urged the young generation to continue the work of the two great leaders, “I am glad that Medgar woke us up and Martin moved us forward. Now we are awake and moving forward, but the work is yet undone. Only you can bring us through.” Dr. Brown closed his speech with an inspirational poem by R. L. Sharpe “A Bag of Tools”.
Following Dr. Brown’s speech, the ASU Gospel Choir presented a selection of songs and Jarae’ King, a sophomore majoring in accounting, performed a mime dance to “Incredible God, Incredible Praise”.
The program closed with Vice President for Student Affairs E. Cheryl Ponder expressing her words of appreciation to the participants, and Dr. Samuel White, executive vice president and provost, encouraging students to “consider themselves as ambassadors in moving Dr. King’s dream forward.”
ASU Gospel Choir performing.
