Olivia Proe
Features Editor
The College celebrated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy in its annual “day on” this past Monday, Jan. 20. The theme chosen for this year’s celebration was “Living the Vision,” with justice dialogues and volunteer opportunities serving as spaces for engagement and reflection.
The day began with an opening ceremony which featured several addresses and performances. President Bolton gave opening remarks, commenting on the relevance today of the challenges that King faced. She stated that upholding King’s legacy requires both action and reflection, and the College community must commit to bending the arc towards justice together. After Bolton’s address, the a cappella group Scots in Harmony performed several songs including Cynthia Erivo’s “Stand Up.”
Following the performance, Austrella Balley ’20, recently elected president of the College’s chapter of the NAACP, addressed the crowd. Balley spoke about the power of youth and paid tribute to young black activists such as Mari Copeny, a 12-year-old activist also known as “Little Miss Flint” who has raised awareness surrounding the water crisis in Flint, Mich.
Kimberly Brazwell then delivered the keynote speech. Brazwell is the founder and CEO of KiMISTRY, “a consulting firm that coaches organizations on how to let their people be the best possible versions of themselves” as well as the executive director of King Lincoln Family Services Corporation in Columbus, Ohio. Prior to her keynote address, Brazwell facilitated the workshop “Moving Over, Under, Around and Through Trauma” on Sunday, Jan. 19. According to the students who attended, the workshop was engaging and interactive, with Brazwell encouraging the participants to reflect upon and share their stories.
She also offered a presentation to faculty and staff of the College surrounding her book. Released in 2017, Browning Pleasantville serves as a memoir detailing Brazwell’s experience as a diversity practitioner of a wealthy, predominantly white school district.
Brazwell’s address opened with the concept of Ubuntu, or the belief that all humanity is connected. She detailed the emotional weight and costs that come along with the label of a “trailblazer” for someone who engages in social justice work. Asking the audience, “if you knew the cost of doing good social justice work, would you still do it?” Brazwell discussed how being the first to create a path for one’s community can be “gut-wrenching and painful.”
She illustrated her point by recalling the personal costs of King’s work to both himself and his family. Ultimately, Brazwell encouraged the creation of spaces that are “safer and braver” and rounded out her address by asking participants to connect with the person sitting next to them through an exercise she led.
The ceremony concluded with a performance from the Wooster chorus and closing remarks from Amanda Anastasia Paniagua, chair of Wooster’s MLK Day Planning Committee. Brazwell held a book signing following her keynote address, and copies of Browning Pleasantville are available for purchase in the Wilson Bookstore.
In the afternoon, students had the opportunity to reflect upon some of the themes from the opening ceremony in justice dialogues. One such dialogue was held by Oria Daugherty ’21 and Georgia Hopps-Weber ’21 on the impacts of climate change on intergenerational justice.
Students showed their enthusiasm for the topic by filling the room, some even sitting on the floor when chairs ran out, to learn more about how effective altruism could be used to do the greatest amount of good for the greatest number of people.
“I hope that attendees took away a lot of the cool resources we provided, but primarily we want people to think more critically about how they are responding to climate change as individuals, as well as how we as a society respond to climate change,” said Daugherty.
Throughout the day, students, faculty and staff were also able to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy by participating in service projects both on and offcampus. Volunteers aided worthy organizations such as OneEighty and Girls on the Run.
Each year, the College’s MLK Day observations serve as spaces for critical conversation, reflection and dialogue — this year’s theme of “Living the Vision” was no exception