West Chester University honored Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 15, by not only keeping the tradition of a service project session, but by holding several commemorative events, opened to the public, in which all proceeds benefited the Frederick Douglass Society Scholarship Fund. The day began with the fourteenth Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Brunch and Drum Major for Justice Alumni Awards at 10 a.m. in Sykes Student Union Ballrooms. Dr. Kendrick Mickens, the associate director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs, introduced those recognized as “six alumni carrying on dreams.” The award recipients were Dwayne Wharton ’93, Robert Coleman ’79, Joan Ricks Nelson ’64, Dr. H. Viscount “Berky” Nelson ’61, Geneva “Gigi” Henderson Bost ’36 and David Flamer ’72.
“The legacy of Dr. King shows it’s the quality not the quantity,” Wharton said. He also spoke of the importance of investing in our children today.
Bost spoke about her experiences as a student and how she was prohibited from living in the dorms and eating in the dining hall. She has dedicated her life to music and was Monroe Township’s ‘Educator of the year.’
“This is where I grew up, this is where I decided I was going to make a difference,” Coleman said. “The difference I make is the difference you made in me.”
Now Director of Athletics for the School District of Philadelphia, Coleman also discussed the differences in collegiate athletics from when he attended WCU.
“We come together today in the spirit of unity and service,” President Madeline Wing Adler said. “Dr. King taught us to hear and answer the voices of those in need.”
A large part of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the celebration at WCU has come from the also annual National Day of Service designed in his honor. According to Todd Bernstein, founder and director of the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, the day was started by former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, who co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act. The federal legislation challenges Americans to transform the King Holiday into a day of citizen action through volunteer service in honor of Dr. King. The federal legislation was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on August 23, 1994.
Student volunteers joined over 265,000 people in the Greater Philadelphia area by giving their time to help others. In the Sykes Student Union ballrooms, students spent a few hours crafting fleece blankets and decorations. Their efforts will be donated for children at Alfred I. du Pont Hospital for Children and also to WCU’s main philanthropy, Camp Dreamcatcher, a local, weeklong camp for children affected/infected by HIV/AIDS. This service activity was sponsored by the Office of Service Learning and Volunteer Programs.
Other events included performances by the University’s 70-member Gospel Choir, the Latin American Student Organization and members of the local community who celebrated Dr. King through poetry.
Coretta Scott King’s sister, Edythe Scott Bagley was not able to attend; however, her spirit and direction came through by her replacement Jann Ellis Scruggs, an associate and theater professor at Cheyney University. Scruggs was joined by WCU history professor Dr. La Tonya Thames-Taylor & professor of social work Dr. Darla Spence Coffey in discussing the topic “CORETTA SCOTT KING: An Artist, Activist, Visionary and Champion of Justice.” Several important items from the collection of Mrs. Bagley were on display in a Sykes Union Civil Rights Museum.
The evening also included a soul food dinner in Lawrence Dining Hall, along with the production “The Dream Realized,” written and directed by West Chester University alumni Shemica Johnson ’02 and resident director Marcus Harrison.
Held in Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall, the production was set in a high school sociology classroom, the production surveys nine students as they discuss diversity, various aspects of their cultures and contemporary issues including teenage pregnancy and respect as it relates to music lyrics. Langston Hughes’ “A Dream Deferred,” ended the musical as a tribute to Sept. 11.