OU students and faculty join with Athens residents to march in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. and his efforts to achieve equality.
The sun shone brightly warming the marchers at Galbreath Chapel who solemnly walked in the 7 degree weather. However, the cold did not silence their message on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Approximately one hundred Athens residents and Ohio University students and faculty walked side-by-side through College Green on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in an attempt to reminisce about the past efforts for racial equality and to show their optimism for the future.
“It’s not an event just of memory, but of hope,” Rev. Evan Young of United Campus Ministry, said to the marchers. “We gather and we march in recognition of how far we have come along the path towards a beloved community, and how much our traveling along that path depends on each one of us. We don’t call off the march because it’s too cold, it’s too rainy or it’s too snowy, because the path has to be walked.”
After the participants joined hands in a prayer, the march began at Galbreath Chapel, and continued through College Green, down South Court Street and concluded in Baker University Center. Some of the marchers linked arms, while others walked silently with their hands in their pockets trying to bear the cold. Even though it was only 7 degrees outside, the number of celebrators was the same if not greater than last year, Tyrone Carr, special assistant to the vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion, said.
Carr said he wished this celebration could be recognized all year round.
The marchers weaved through the College Gate, with President Roderick McDavis in the lead. McDavis said he remembered the day King Jr. was assassinated when he was a student.
“It was a low point in my life, and yet at the same time it was a time for all of us to understand that it was a once in a lifetime experience to hear this man, to live during his work and be a part of the movement,” McDavis said.
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The march is part of a week-long program called the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, hosted by the office for Diversity and Inclusion. Other events this week include a panel discussion about immigration and refugees Tuesday, a film screening of Selma on Thursday, “Say Her Name: Remembering Black Women and Girls Killed by Police” event on Thursday and International Day of Solidarity with Trans Prisoners event on Friday. The celebration ends Saturday with MLK Jr. Day of Service.
The march strove to battle racial issues at OU. Last month the #blacklivesmatter graffiti wall was vandalized along with other acts of defacement on campus, sparking racial issues. OU has created cultural competency classes to help spread racial awareness.
“There’s clearly still tensions that exist even in a campus as liberal and progressive as OU. This is something that needs to be taken seriously,” Trent Hoge, a freshman studying communication, said.
The march concluded with a speech from Rev. Young and invited participants to the celebratory brunch.
“We’re not just pain and suffering,” Young said. “We’re not just strife. We are also a community united in our interest in welcoming all, including all and hearing the voices of all.”
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