JULIE MORRIS/Photo Staff Assistant Provost for Multicultural Affairs John Bello-Ogunu (left), keynote speaker Jan R. Carew (middle) and Vice President of University Outreach David Wilson (right) take part in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.

Students, faculty and others celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day listened to a motivational message last Thursday night encouraging them to follow the legacy set by King and other black leaders.

Jan R. Carew, professor emeritus at Northwestern University, was the keynote speaker of the celebration. The event included performances by the Auburn University Gospel Choir and the Selma Youth Philharmonic Chorale.

Carew, described by associate provost and vice president for University Outreach David Wilson as a “Renaissance man,” is author of several publications on race relations and an artist. He has served as a visiting professor at universities around the world and has advised heads of state of many African and Caribbean countries.

Carew reflected on his encounters with King, James Baldwin and Malcolm X. He highlighted not only their contributions of leadership, but also their academic pursuits that served as a foundation for their leadership.

King was a great philosopher and one of the most eloquent speakers of his time, Carew said. Reflecting on his first meeting with King, Carew said he could sense King’s concern for black people and racial discrimination. “I saw him looking away from the place where he was with an unflushable sadness that flowed from his eyes.”

He said Baldwin was “highly educated and self-read” and could speak several languages, such as French and Arabic. Malcolm X had read all of Shakespeare’s plays and memorized portions, Carew said.

“All three of these men left us legacies. They had a passion for ideas. Ideas call for learning, which takes great discipline. You can take no shortcuts.

“The challenge year after year when we commemorate King and others is to look to the legacy and emulate it with the finest and best that came out of their lives,” Carew said.

He also emphasized the importance of African-American studies and programs at universities. 

“There are perhaps a billion blacks on the planet, so of course we need African-American studies,” Carew said. “They must be an integral part of university systems, not some hole or secret society.” 

Before the celebration, a group of about a dozen members of the Black Student Union marched arm in arm singing spirituals from the Concourse to Samford Hall where they listened to a reading of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Teshieka Curtis, a sophomore in political science and the executive vice president of the BSU, said the BSU decided to sponsor the march in an effort to show its support of King. “The BSU needs to do more on campus. We as students need to do more than go hear a speaker,” she said.

John Bello-Ogunu, who started his position as assistant provost of multicultural affairs this quarter, said he wanted to have some activity other than the speaker to celebrate King Day.

He said he was proud that although they were few in number, the students recognized King’s sacrifice through the march and reading of King’s speech.

“I hope next year we can have more elaborate, intensive and all-inclusive activities,” Bello-Ogunu said. “Together, we can channel our racial differences into positive energies.”

Marques Dantzler, a senior in finance and president of the BSU, said celebrating King Day should be important to the University as a whole.

“Celebrating his birthday is important not only to the African-American students, but to the whole University,” Dantzler said. “He did a lot for Americans in general, not just African-Americans.

“He spent his whole life trying to make the world better for everybody.”