LSU students, faculty, and staff wrapped up this year’s commemorative celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 18 with a guest speaker event and day of service.
The celebration ended early this year with multiple event cancellations due to COVID-19 concerns.
Hundreds of Baton Rouge volunteers, LSU students, and staff picked up trash, cleaned churches, and more on Jan. 17 as a part of volunteers’ and the Office of Multicultural Affairs’ efforts to make the civil rights leader’s celebration a “day on, not off.”
Members of LSU’s Black Male Leadership Initiative and the Nu Iota chapter of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity shoveled gravel and painted the House of Refuge building on Plank Road.
Students and faculty gathered in the Student Union Theater on Jan. 18 to listen to a presentation from David Dennis Sr., a civil rights activist best known for his participation in the first Freedom Ride from Montgomery, Alabama, to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1961.
As a freshman at Dillard University, Dennis stumbled upon a rally organized by the Congress of Racial Equality Corps, established in 1942, to protest segregation in public settings.
Though he initially wasn’t interested, Dennis eventually became infatuated with the movement, participating in sit-ins and most famously, the Freedom Rides— long bus rides White and Black civil rights activists took across the South.
To prepare for the Freedom Rides, Dennis rode to Montgomery, Alabama, where he met civil rights leaders, including King. Arrested over 30 times for protesting for equality, Dennis dedicated a lifetime to fighting for civil rights in the South, especially in Louisiana and Mississippi.
“Young people—some of them your age sitting out here—were saying ‘If we gotta die, this is worth dying for, because we can’t stop now,’” Dennis said.
Michelle Carter, Executive Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, also spoke.
“Today, we honor Dr. Martin Luther King, but also all other freedom fighters whose names we will never know,” Carter said. “He coupled faith and action to fight for those who often felt voiceless.”
Jane Cassidy, Interim Vice President of Civil Rights & Title IX, shared a quote from King and said she wants to “change the narrative to create a culture of respect” at LSU.
“It’s foolish and dishonest to pretend that racism doesn’t exist or that we do not judge others by the color of their skin,” she said.
There was a performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and the event wrapped up with Dennis answering questions from the audience. Afterwards, five students from the audience were chosen to have “fireside chat” with the civil rights activist.
LSU also awarded performance studies graduate student Johanna Middleton the Unsung Hero award for her work toward social justice through art. Middleton’s efforts were recognized through her work on “Resilient Body,” a performance bringing awareness to the toxicity of rape culture.
The performance will take place from March 9-13 in the Hopkins Black Box Theater.
“I think it’s so important to remember that it’s not just the folks we’re constantly hearing about like MLK, who obviously did amazing work, but it’s the folks who, like Dennis said, are behind the scenes, who are tirelessly showing up day after day to organize and support these movements,” Middleton said.
Civil Rights Leader David J. Dennis, Sr. answers questions from the audience Jan. 18, 2022, during the MLK Commemorative Keynote in the LSU Union Theater.
