GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Calvin College students and faculty aimed to bring attention to equal rights Monday during a Martin Luther King Jr. march on campus.
Students and faculty gathered Jan. 21 at the Calvin College chapel on campus to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., then headed outdoors for a march during cold temperatures.
“The reason why we commemorate Dr. King every year is because we are a by-product of his work and his legacy," said Khayree Williams, Calvin College’s assistant dean of Multicultural Student Development. “If it wasn’t for his work and many others during the Civil Rights Movement, we wouldn’t even be able to worship or educate ourselves at the same institution."
About 50 students and faculty members gathered outside the chapel to pray before gathering their signs and walking through the snow for the Martin Luther King Jr. equal rights march.
As students marched with their signs, a golf cart led the way with a speaker strapped on to the back seat, blasting Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech from 1963.
“I really like this march because it helps us remember the great legacy that Dr. King left and why it’s so important to stand up for what we believe in,” said Camryn Young, a sophomore at Calvin College. “A lot of people think it’s just us going after what other people are doing, but really we just want equality among everyone.”
The march concluded at the Multicultural Student Development Office where there was a reception with cake and punch to celebrate the holiday.
The morning kicked off with the speech Strength to Love, featuring Madison Church Ford Campus pastor Brad Knetsch and director Lemarr Jackson from Madison Church: Square Campus Youth.
“It’s amazing to see all the students that came out," Williams said. “I tell people all the time I love my job, because it doesn’t feel like work it feels like I’m living out my purpose.
"We empower our students by educating them but also encouraging them to use their voices, to keep the legacy going and keep the dream going.”