Prayer, march held to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
JACKSON, Tenn. – The celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. continued on Monday.
Lane College students came together for a “Prayer on the Steps” to honor the late minister and activist.
“And so many of the values of the civil rights movement were parts of who it is that we say we are as a Christian community,” said Logan Hampton, the 10th president of Lane College.
Hampton said they take this opportunity to inspire students to celebrate those who have made significant contributions to advance justice not only in the community, but across the country.
“We think about all of the diversity that exists in our community – the diverse voices. And so often in our communities, we turn on one another because of our diversity. This is an opportunity to turn to one another and work together,” he said.
Hampton says as we celebrate our heroes and “sheroes,” we must avoid the “Hollywoodization” of our past.
“And we need to remember them soberly, and to think about their commitment, their struggle, think about the freedoms that we enjoy, the opportunities that we enjoy,” Hampton said.
He hopes that the students will see themselves in history, and pointed to the freshman four from Lane College as an example.
“[Current students] think not of a colored only sign, or a colored section or a white section. They just go wherever they choose to go. Well that was a hard fought and won battle by a group of Lane College students in the 1960s,” Hampton said.
He adds that he wants his students to ask themselves what they will do today to change the lives of future students.
Lane College will continue to honor King with a chapel service on Wednesday morning at Bray Hall, to celebrating a life well lived.
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