University Hosts Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.

Faculty, staff, students and community members came together Jan. 24 to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. 96 years after his birth.

The most recognizable figure of the Civil Rights Movement, King rose to national prominence during the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and was a primary organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Before he was killed by an assassin’s bullet in 1968, he had helped see passage of the federal Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act.

The Jan. 24 observance began with a prayer service in Mabee Chapel, where the choir from St. Monica Catholic Church performed works accentuating excerpts from prayers, letters and speeches by Dr. King and reflections from campus and community members. Gina Speese, ’83, prospect research and analytics manager, invoked King, saying, “The time is always right to do right” and connecting it to the Jesuit identity of Rockhurst University. 

“This is why I love Rockhurst University,” she said. “Because of the core values and commitment to justice for our students. Let us honor Dr. King not only with our words but with our actions.”

Following the prayer service, those gathered were encouraged to take part in a reflection walk, retracing King’s life and asking participants to think about what he was thinking — and writing and saying — during events such as his 1963 jailing in Birmingham, Alabama, while protesting continued racial discrimination in the city and across the South. 

In the Greenlease Library following the service and walk, guests and students reflected on their own experience and tied it to King’s message. Melissa Ferrer-Civil, the first poet laureate of Kansas City, spoke of the connection between current generations and those who came before, spotlighting the importance of taking that baton and continuing the work of people like King. Numerous students shared how their experience as part of Rockhurst University’s Civil Rights Solidarity Immersion trip in January, and another performer, Gari LeAnn, implored the audience to take the opportunity to use what they’ve learned to transform their community.