Posted 10:55 pm Saturday, January 19, 2013
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Texas College celebrates life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
By EMILY GUEVARA
eguevara@tylerpaper.com
Texas College celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Friday during a program of remembrance.
eguevara@tylerpaper.com
Texas College celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Friday during a program of remembrance.
The program included songs, prayers, scripture readings and a video presentation highlighting the work of the Civil Rights activist and other African-Americans.
“As a result of his influences and the impact of his influences, we are able to sit here today with certain liberties and rights …,” Texas College President Dr. Dwight J. Fennell said. “You just don’t know … this time in which we live, the freedoms that you have. The freedoms that you have mean so much, not because of we’re so good but because of a drum major who went before us.”
Fennell said King answered the call God had on his life.
“Now we sit here in the 21st century, in the 21st century with great opportunities not appreciative of it,” Fennell said.
He encouraged students to take advantage of their education and apply themselves to receive it.
Students should not only dare to dream, but also recognize those who have gone before them and embrace the future.
“Your degrees are not for you,” Fennell said. “The choir song and what they’re saying is not for you. The prayers that we have for this country, this nation it’s not just for you. It’s because we have to pray for one another and the futures that we have so that life can continue to sustain and be better as Dr. King was.”
King and his contemporaries worked on behalf of future generations. King’s life exemplified love, charity, faith and belief, Fennell said.
“Think about it, someone fighting for you, someone battling for you who (doesn’t) even know you, but wants you to have a better future and a better opportunity,” he said.
Fennell said everyone has challenges in their lives, but those cannot be excuses to limit their future.
Fennell said King answered the call God had on his life.
“Now we sit here in the 21st century, in the 21st century with great opportunities not appreciative of it,” Fennell said.
He encouraged students to take advantage of their education and apply themselves to receive it.
Students should not only dare to dream, but also recognize those who have gone before them and embrace the future.
“Your degrees are not for you,” Fennell said. “The choir song and what they’re saying is not for you. The prayers that we have for this country, this nation it’s not just for you. It’s because we have to pray for one another and the futures that we have so that life can continue to sustain and be better as Dr. King was.”
King and his contemporaries worked on behalf of future generations. King’s life exemplified love, charity, faith and belief, Fennell said.
“Think about it, someone fighting for you, someone battling for you who (doesn’t) even know you, but wants you to have a better future and a better opportunity,” he said.
Fennell said everyone has challenges in their lives, but those cannot be excuses to limit their future.
They must realize the opportunities in front of them.
“Although there may remain small communities with vestiges of old racist sentiments and actions, I believe that our collective presence here today suggests a great deal has been done to eradicate segregationist practices and to form the development of an American culture that is more inclusive, but it’s our responsibility to make it inclusive,” Fennell said. “This day is not a black day. It’s not a white day. It’s an American day.”
Students said the program provided them with an opportunity to reflect on King’s life and the progress in this nation.
“I’m blessed to be a part of the generation that sees what has already been implemented through his vision,” said Ashley Wooten, a Texas College senior and Miss Texas College.
Student Government President Jake Martin, a Texas College senior, said it’s important to recognize and acknowledge what King did for the Civil Rights movement.
“I think it kind of epitomizes what America is and that the American dream is still alive and that anything’s possible here in America,” Martin said.
“Although there may remain small communities with vestiges of old racist sentiments and actions, I believe that our collective presence here today suggests a great deal has been done to eradicate segregationist practices and to form the development of an American culture that is more inclusive, but it’s our responsibility to make it inclusive,” Fennell said. “This day is not a black day. It’s not a white day. It’s an American day.”
Students said the program provided them with an opportunity to reflect on King’s life and the progress in this nation.
“I’m blessed to be a part of the generation that sees what has already been implemented through his vision,” said Ashley Wooten, a Texas College senior and Miss Texas College.
Student Government President Jake Martin, a Texas College senior, said it’s important to recognize and acknowledge what King did for the Civil Rights movement.
“I think it kind of epitomizes what America is and that the American dream is still alive and that anything’s possible here in America,” Martin said.
