Rev. Bernice A. King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., hopes Oswego State can build upon her father’s legacy.

Since 1986 Oswego State has held more than a dozen Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations.

“It doesn’t require another Martin Luther King,” King said. “But people who are willing to study the blueprint left by [an] architect to change our world.”

Oswego State President Deborah Stanley said “in the land of Oz” students are the “laborers” of this blueprint.
For years King, a chief executive director of the King Center in Atlanta has advised students to facilitate diversity. Last Friday, she served as a keynote speaker for the Oswego State’s 27th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration.

Sponsored by the Oswego State Division of Student Affairs and the Enrollment Management committee, hundreds of students, faculty and community leaders like Mayor William “Billy” Barlow filled the audience.

Meanwhile, at the podium, King wore a black beaded necklace and a bronze patterned suit, mirroring the stance and raw vocality of her father.

“You have a moral obligation not to cooperate with evil,” King said. “We are one human family. There are things that are threatening the fabric of our humanity.”

King encouraged the community to band together through trials of disparity and privilege.

“To whom much is given, much is required,” King said. “True peace is not the absence of tensions, but the presence of justice.”

As the nation copes with issues of police brutality, economic inequities and racial inequalities, King recommends a ‘person-centered’ approach to solve the world’s problems.

“College campuses are environments not just for learning, but for debate,” King said. “Systems and structures are created by people. We need to be driven more by the care and concern of individuals and not just by profit and property.”

The evening’s performances included Oswego State’s Vocal Effect, The State Singers and Gospel Choir and Pastor Smokie Norful.

Latino Student Union President Susan Velazquez recited the historic 1964 “I have a dream” speech, while The Oswegonian News Editor JoAnn Delauter read Dr. king’s many accomplishments. The Director of the Student Association Programming Board Imani Cruz introduced King.

According to Student Association President Christopher Collins McNeil, the program encouraged campus connectivity.

“He was the architect,” Collins-McNeil said. “Our country and world is in a critical state right now and we need to come together as a person connected society.”

Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and the Dean of Students Jerri Drummond said “students are the future” and can fulfill Dr. King’s dream.

“We need to remember our past to move forward,” Drummond said. “It’s important once we come back together to celebrate this man.”

Director of Programming for the Caribbean Student Association Cherilyn Beckles said social disparities exist across the U.S.

“The dream is not over yet,” Beckles said. “We have a long way to go.”

Student Association Vice President Emily Nassir hopes students can follow the momentum of unity.
“It’s the foundation of how we should be living and leading,” Nassir said. “It’s important to build upon a foundation. If you can’t remember it, how can you build on it?”

As King stepped away from her notes at the podium she accepted an award for civic service.

“The answer is in our hands,” she said.