As the sun set Monday night, nearly 100 LSU students joined together in front of the Memorial Tower to listen to speakers and participate in a candlelight vigil and march to memorialize Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.
The night began reverently as “Glory” — the iconic song from the movie “Selma” performed by John Legend and Common — played and participants quietly lined up with unlit candles waiting for Altony Hall, president of the LSU National Pan-Hellenic Council, to welcome the crowd.
Hall spoke about King’s message of unity and peace, explaining that the vigil and march are held to reflect on the past and honor Civil Rights leaders. He highlighted the importance of people working together amid the world’s problems to continue King’s dream.
Hall called on students to remember King’s message by quoting one of his speeches, saying, “Unity is the great need of the hour, and if we are united we can get many of the things that we not only desire but which we justly deserve.”
As Hall concluded his speech, he challenged attendees to reflect on King’s message and share it with others.
Then, Pastor TaMarlon T. Carter took to the stage. Kinesiology junior Courtney Morgan’s said he favorite part of the night was Pastor Carter’s speech because it called on students to lead change.
“It spoke to the leaders in the crowd, the people who really want to make a change in community and the school,” Morgan said.
Following the pastor’s remarks, attendees passed a flame from candle to candle as the hymn “Take My Hand, Precious Lord” played in the background.
Kinesiology junior Terry Smith has attended the vigil two years in a row, first as an attendee and now as vice president of the LSU National Pan-Hellenic Council, the organization hosting the event.
Standing on the steps of the Memorial Tower, Smith said “it was a very beautiful sight” to see the light from the candles shining through the dark.
She described the candles as a symbol for “the legacy, the lives that were lost, the battles that were fought, everything, every word spoken that was to further to Civil Rights Movement, anything that was to better the world in general, every legacy that Dr. King left behind.”
After a recording of King’s “We Shall Overcome” speech, attendees marched with their lit candles to the Business Education Complex where a reception awaited them.
Athletic training freshman Sada Jones attended the vigil for the first time this year and said she was impressed by the diverse turnout.
“It was great to see how many different people from different cultures and backgrounds came together all because of one man’s difference years ago,” Jones said. “It’s amazing to see the change in the world today.”
The candlelight vigil was the second event in the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration Week, which will continue today with a speech by Black Lives Matter co-creator Alicia Garza. The week-long celebration will end Thursday with the MLK Performing Arts Night.
During the MLK Day of Service, which preceded the vigil, approximately 200 university volunteers participated in service projects around the Baton Rouge community.

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Catherine Seddon

Denisha Thomas, a kinesiology senior, attended a candlelight vigil and celebration in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. in front of the Memorial Tower Monday, Jan. 18, 2016.