An MLK March for Unity

“This past fall semester, we experienced some events that divided us along racial, ethnic and gender lines,” says Jorge Rodriguez ’14, a Gordon College Presidential Fellow, Clarendon Scholar and Pike Scholar. “In reflecting on Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, I came up with the idea of a march around the quad on MLK Day—a way of honoring King, who, through his marches, raised awareness of problems and expressed a vision of what could be. I was tired of division and wanted to see unity.”

Jorge and other students, including Juwan Campbell, Conor Krupke, Carl Brooks, and Ashlie Busone, began their march at the Ken Olsen Science Center and proceeded around the quad and through the mini-quad, ending on the chapel steps. Along the way they stopped—at the bell, in front of Jenks, in front of Bromley, at Chase Hall, and in front of Lane—and took turns reading portions of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. On the chapel steps Carl Brooks delivered a speech, cowritten by the students, contextualizing King’s words to Gordon’s campus.

“The march on Gordon promoted the betterment of campus life, as it pertained to the unity of this institution,” says Jorge. “This movement was not one of politics but one of heart, soul, and mind that asked ‘Who are we in God’s image?’ and responded: ‘Children—different, but still children.’ In marching, individuals sought to bring forth the Kingdom of God by symbolically declaring the beauty of our difference and the strength of our unity.”

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