JACKSON, Tenn. — April 5, 2018 — Union University marked the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. with a community reading and reflection April 4 on the steps of The Logos.
The event, entitled “Where Do We Go from Here?,” began at 6:01 p.m. with the bells of Miller Tower ringing 39 times to mark the age of King at the time of his death in 1968.
Frank Anderson, director of Union’s Center for Racial Reconciliation, said the name of the event came from the title of King’s final published book, published the year before his death, “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?”
“We have come together to answer this question,” Anderson said. “Here at Union University, we choose to be a community - a community of authentic Christian faith, a community of Christian love and a community committed to social justice.”
Union University President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver said while the anniversary of King’s death is a reminder of all that has been achieved and accomplished over the last 50 years, it is also a reminder that much more needs to be done.
“As we remember today, let’s also commit ourselves to ever moving forward and ever being more committed to root out injustice and racism and bigotry in our own hearts and wherever we find it in systems and institutions in our community and this world,” Oliver said.
The event included community readings from the Bible and some of King’s books and speeches, led by members of the student group MOSAIC.
Union faculty members C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy; Mary Anne Poe, dean of the School of Social Work and director of the Center for Just and Caring Communities; and Phillip Ryan, director of the Center for Intercultural Engagement, led the community in prayers for wisdom, diversity and ethnic, racial and social justice. Daryll Coleman, chair of the division of liberal arts at Lane College in Jackson, led in prayer for racial and ethnic unity within the body of Christ.
“As we celebrate Dr. King’s legacy, I think we should remember that a great legacy always begs the question of what we will do with the example that has been set before us,” Anderson said.
The event was sponsored by MOSAIC, the Center for Intercultural Engagement, the Center for Just and Caring Communities and the Center for Racial Reconciliation.