The struggle for justice and equality will unite Sinclair Community College, the University of Dayton, Wright State and Central State University, in celebration of the dream, life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Sinclair is celebrating King’s legacy for the first time this quarter. Various professors, students and clubs will join together to break down walls of inequality, fear and ignorance, said Amaha Sellassie president of the African American club.
“The main goal is about building those relationships. From there, we can begin to talk about problems within our society and on our campuses,” said Sellassie. “All kinds of change begin with a conversation, so the more that we are able to talk that sets the motion for greater things.”
Inspired by King’s legacy, Sellassie said that fear often creates a barrier between different religions, cultures, races and social classes. He hopes to eliminate fear and replace it with communication.
“People don’t get along with each other because they fear each other, and they fear each other because they don’t know each other,” said Sellassie. “They don’t know each other because they haven’t communicated. We are trying to break down the stereotypes by getting people to know each other. And to realize that at the basic level we are all human beings.”
The theme of the celebration will focus on King’s “World House Vision,” a vision that speaks to the enormous challenges that we face today in society. These societal problems include poverty, hunger, racism, war, spiritual bankruptcy and much more.
Coexistence is also a pivotal focus of the essay because King spoke about how we live in one world and are all obligated to take care of it, said Sellassie.
“We live in a global world and certainly the philosophy that King spoke to us about many years ago still speaks to us today, which is the fact that we are more alike than different,” said Gwen Jones, diversity officer.
Sinclair honored King’s legacy, with a series called ‘MLK speaks to Sinclair,’ from Jan. 9 to the 13th, as a way for faculty and students to present speeches and writings from King.
On his birthday, Sinclair, the University of Dayton and Wright State University engaged in a march that took place from Welcome Stadium to the Convention Center.
On Jan. 21, in the stage area of Building 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sinclair in collaboration with the University of Dayton and Wright State University will participate in a Dayton Dialogue on Race Relations Session.
The goal of the session is to build trust between different groups, organizations, cultures, religions and races and to do so with dialogue, said Jones.
“Out of a lack of awareness, misunderstanding and fear, people tend to avoid one another as opposed to talking and healing. It helps to create a pathway toward understanding, reconciliation, cooperation, healing and support,” Jones said.
For more information, go to www.sinclair.edu/about/learning/slearning/mlk.
