The Bolinga Center encourages students to join in celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a unity march across campus.
The Bolinga Center is working with student organizations to make this event possible. This is the second annual march that will give students the opportunity to learn about MLK’s legacy and bridge a gap of disconnection between WSU students.
“We should continue to celebrate MLK day because it is our best and last hope,” senior and Student Event Coordinator for the Bolinga Center Amaha Sellassie said. “If we choose to live life violently, peace will never happen. As King explained we must eliminate hate and separate an evil act from a person. We must love unconditionally, forgive and get rid of any fear. It starts with human dignity, treating others with justice and acknowledging their worth.”
Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist who fought for equality. He was the driving force behind life changing events for minorities such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott, March on Washington, Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
He was a gifted student who attended college at the age of 15. Upon graduating from graduate school and marrying Coretta Scott King he became the president and founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a group committed to achieving full equality for African Americans through nonviolence.
He traveled across the country and around the world giving lectures on nonviolent protest and civil rights as well as meeting with religious figures, activities and political leaders, including Gandhi.
He also authored several books and articles. The SCLC philosophy of nonviolence was put to the test in 1963, in which activists used a boycott, sit-ins and marches to protest segregation, unfair hiring practices and other injustices in Birmingham Alabama, at the time one of the country’s most racially divided cities.
He was arrested for his involvement on April 12 and penned the civil rights manifesto known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Later that year, King worked with different groups to organize the march on Washington for jobs and freedom. This event had about 300,000 attendants, and is where King addressed the famous speech “I have a dream.”
In 1968, King was fatally shot while standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis. James Earl Ray, an escaped convict and known racist, pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Years later, a bill was signed by Ronald Reagan to honor King by creating a U.S. federal holiday.
According to Sellassie, the Bolinga Center will be having a sign-creating party starting at 5 p.m., to create signs that will be used for the Unity March.
The Unity March will be held Jan. 22 and start at 12 p.m. The march will begin at different locations around campus, representing different principles of what King embodied and fought for.
The Woods Campus Housing will be for the principle of non-violence, Dunbar Library will be World House (which is the last chapter of the last book King wrote that talks about how different people can live together peacefully), Russ Engineering Center will be social justice and Forest Lane will be economic justice.
At all of these locations students will get to hear speeches from King on the various principles. Students will then march to the Red Sculpture outside of University Hall and learn another principle, unconditional love.
The march will conclude with a Rally in the Apollo Room. Students will hear from alumni, staff and students on campus. Students will also have the chance to participate in the building community connections dialogue.
“I’m most looking forward to the dialogue,” Sellassie said. “Where students will break into small groups and tackle questions such as how can we improve conditions on campus between different cultures and groups. I’m hoping that after this event these conversations can live on and students can get to know others and build a bond… and possibly start a movement.”
Student organizations, such as the Rainbow Alliance and the International and Muslim clubs have already signed up and will take different spots on the principles locations mentioned.
The Miami Valley community march will be held on Monday Jan. 21 and starts at Drew Health Clinic in Dayton at 9:30 a.m. Local universities including Wright State, University of Dayton, Central State and Sinclair have been working together on the community march. Sinclair will offer breakfast at 8 a.m. and Wright State will provide transportation.
“Many people complain about campus being disconnected but don’t take the steps to change or learn to relate on a common ground,” Sellassie said. “This unity march is an opportunity to meet new people and honor someone who’s shoulders we all stand on. Many of us wouldn’t be able to go to Wright State if it wasn’t for people like Martin Luther King.”
For more information about the Unity March stop by the Bolinga Center or contact Amaha Sellassie at sellassie.2@wright.edu.
