Franklin College students and faculty members march on campus during Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in 2022. This year’s celebration on Jan. 16 will again feature a march for students, staff and faculty, a chapel service, public convocation among other activities.
DAILY JOURNAL FILE PHOTO
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent his life working against injustice that he saw around him, whatever that may look like.
He helped lead the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, while fighting for oppressed people of all kinds.
Though more than 50 years has passed since his death, his message still resonates today — and inspires many to fight for justice today.
King’s legacy, and the legacy of Black individuals throughout history, are being celebrated throughout the month of January at Franklin College. Two different immersive courses are being held on campus throughout school’s winter term, as students examine King’s life and the legacy of Black excellence in the United States.
“What is different this year is, not only the importance that is being placed on the date, but the two immersive courses that are around civil justice, around social justice and even the legacy MLK played in all of the other unspoken heroes we have in the Civil Rights Era,” said Maegan Pollonais, director of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at Franklin College.
Accentuating those ideals is the college’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Jan. 16. The college welcomes the entire community to learn how King’s impact and mission is applied today in a convocation lecture by Rev. Dr. Nyle Fort, a minister, scholar and social justice activist committed to transformative justice.
Leading up to the public event, Franklin College students will take part in volunteer opportunities throughout the county. The community will come together for a chapel service, then march across campus to honor those who marched before to win the freedoms known today and with those who still struggle to have their freedoms recognized.
“We are allowed to really appreciate those freedoms today, and push forward to greater heights,” Pollonais said.
Franklin College has made Martin Luther King Jr. Day a centerpiece of its school calendar each year. Though the pandemic muted activities the past two years, school leaders still organized a celebration, including the march and convocation.
Organizers are excited to have a great breadth of opportunities for students, staff and the community this time around, Pollonais said.
“We were more into COVID last year, so there were a lot of opportunities we wanted to seek out but could not. We really wanted to be in the community and volunteer and help the community,” she said.
Central to ideas of justice, civil rights and Black excellence has been the two immersive winter term courses. The first, taught by Pollonais, is “Unlocking Black Excellence.” The course explores history, from slavery to the Civil Rights Era to spotlight innovations and excellence achieved by Black individuals over time.
“My students are really going to get enriched in all of the things that African-Americans have done in this country, that we don’t necessarily talk about as the forefront of our history, even though it is part of American history and not just Black history,” Pollonais said.
Separate from the course, but in collaboration with it, is one examining the legacy of King. The course is by Sara Colburn-Alsop, a professor in the modern language department, and Pollonais reached out to her once they realized there would be overlap between their two classes.
Already, the two classes have worked together on a field trip, visiting the Crispus Attucks Museum in downtown Indianapolis, having lunch at the Black-owned restaurant Cleo’s Bodega and stopping by the mural dedicated to King.
“We had our students pick out their favorite MLK quote, talk about why they picked that quote and recite it at the mural,” Pollonais said.
The classes will again go out in the field on Jan. 16 to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Day festivities at the Indiana State Museum.
While those students will be off campus, a host of activities and other events have been planned back at Franklin College.
The centerpiece of the day is the convocation lecture by Fort, titled, “Where Do We Go from Here? Dr. King’s Legacy and the Crisis of American Democracy.” Fort, an activist, minister and scholar, is an incoming professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Columbia University. He has worked for social justice around the world through cutting-edge scholarship, community-based organizing, and large-scale social movements.
His lecture will emphasize urgent need for students, educators and community members to fight for justice as issues of racism, police brutality, economic inequality, xenophobia, climate change and more threaten our social fabric.
At its core, the talk will help people think about what they can do individually and collectively to create the world everyone deserves, according to a release from Franklin College.
Other activities will support and exemplify King’s work and life.
Students have signed up to volunteer at Johnson County Senior Services, Johnson County Public Library and Franklin College’s Hamilton Library, mirroring King’s commitment to service.
A chapel service, featuring prayer, video clips and music, offers an opportunity for participants to center themselves and reflect on the connection between faith and action.
Following the service, students, faculty and staff will do a commemorative march around campus.
The enthusiasm surrounding the celebration this year has been exciting to see unfold, Pollonais said.
“I want to commend my colleagues, even to show that collaboration between staff and faculty, that we have a faculty member who wants to teach an entire class on the life and legacy of Dr. King really shows the soul of our campus, and what we feel is important and what we value here,” she said.
IF YOU GO
Martin Luther King Jr. Day Convocation Lecture
What: “Where Do We Go from Here? Dr. King’s Legacy and the Crisis of American Democracy” from Rev. Dr. Nyle Fort.
When: 4 p.m. Jan. 16
Where: Richardson Chapel, Franklin College campus
Who: Fort is a minister, scholar and social justice activist committed to transformative justice. His lecture will highlight the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in light of the crises we face today as a nation and global community. Fort will discuss the urgent need for students, educators and community members to fight for justice as issues of racism, police brutality, economic inequality, xenophobia, climate change and more threaten our social fabric.
This event is free and open to the public. Register for the event here.
