Northwestern faculty members, students and Evanston community members lit up Alice Millar Chapel with candlelights, clapping and singing to gospel tunes Sunday afternoon for the 45th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Candlelight Vigil. The Alpha Mu chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity hosted the event.
“As we set aside this day to acknowledge Dr. King’s spirit, let us remind ourselves that we can and should continue to uphold and transcend his vision so that his dream manifests this reality,” SESP senior Andrew Pinkston, president of the Alpha Mu chapter, said during the vigil.
The vigil featured the Northwestern Community Ensemble singing gospel tunes such as “Lift Every Voice and Sing” and Bro. Rev. Michael Blake as their guest speaker. Blake is a Medill alumnus, a former Alpha Phi Alpha, Northwestern Community Ensemble member and a New York City mayoral candidate.
Blake said he thinks King wants everyone to think about the future. In his 33-minute speech, Blake also said that talking only about the present and the past prevents people from living out King’s legacy.
“King gave us lessons to remind us that our jobs, our goals (and) our purpose is to help,” Blake said.
Blake, who spent time with the King family during Barack Obama’s first inauguration, said this event was important for him to support younger generations and remind his audience of attendees that they have a responsibility to keep honoring King.
“The MLK ceremony here in (NU) is one of the critical ones in this country,” Blake said. “It’s hard not to be inspired and motivated when someone has that perspective, and so in the midst of the attacks that are happening now, if (King) was able to do it, so can we.”
Medill Prof. Ava Thompson Greenwell, who taught Blake during his time at NU, said that Blake’s speech was about making sure students apply King’s ideals to their lives.
“The idea is remembrance,” Greenwell said. “And that work starts with each individual making sure that they are a believer in themselves first, so that they can then begin to believe in others and help others.”
The vigil ended with attendees singing “We Shall Overcome” and a benediction given by Interim University Chaplain and Executive Director, Religious and Spiritual Life Rev. Dr. Karen Mosby. The event also offered a beneficiary to March of Dimes, an organization that supports the health of mothers and babies.
“As you go forward from this place, go forward with the courage of Dr. Martin Luther King,” Mosby said. “Go forward with the vision of a king. Go forward with the confidence of a king and queen that stride. Whether your next steps are nice or anxious, go forward.”
Weinberg sophomore Kunmi Faseru said she wanted to take the time to attend the vigil and that it was important for her because of the upcoming holiday.
She also said that the United States has a “long way to go” considering King’s dedication and what he achieved.
“When we take the time to think about what (King) wanted and all the things that he did, to get to where we are now — but also to have the freedom to think of what else we can do — I think that’s super important,” Faseru said. We just don’t want that to die.”
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