Wright State Campus | Photo by Diana Jaber | The Wright State Guardian
Students at Wright State University (WSU) showed their appreciation for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and celebrated his life by hosting two events to express what he means to them culturally and personally.
A Student’s dream
On Monday, Jan. 10, students gathered inside the Bolinga center to craft and share their personal aspirations of Dr. King’s inspired dream and their vision for WSU.
Students shared what MLK week represented to them and engaged in conversations about the week.
“We have to remember our history and demonstrate our own practices of activism to make sure people understand the struggles we continue to face today,” student Gary Neal said.
Each student had a passionate attachment to the week since Dr. King inspired them all in different ways. Students shared their aspirations and why they chose to celebrate MLK week.
“I just want things to be easier for us, all I could really ask for is peace,” student Brianna Green said.
A lot of students backed up her statement, sharing that majority of them have felt the same.
All about the peace
Quatez Scott, the intercultural specialist of the Bolinga Black Cultural Resources Center, pushed to express peace during this week.
On Tuesday, Jan. 11 he provided an overview of the life of Dr. King through a virtual event where he highlighted King’s idea of peace within his forms of justice. In his speech, Scott illuminated the works of Dr. King and how he approached the five faces of oppression, which include exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence.
“The hope is that folks not only see Dr. King as the great activist and organizer that he was for racial and economic equality, but that people learn to appreciate how much he embodied the concepts of peace that lead to a justice-oriented society,” Scott said.
Dr. King is widely known for his political activist roles in American history. Scott was able to bring light to how not everything should be dealt with violence, and how Dr. King, a noble leader, was a strong believer in such an idea.
