{"id":112,"date":"2016-02-01T14:28:25","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T14:28:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/?p=112"},"modified":"2025-03-06T16:49:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T16:49:57","slug":"mlk-event-urges-students-to-be-the-change-in-their-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/2016\/02\/01\/mlk-event-urges-students-to-be-the-change-in-their-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"MLK event urges students to “be the change in their communities”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Augsburg\u2019s Hoversten Chapel was filled to capacity as Student Body President Duina Hernandez \u201916 welcomed a mosaic of faces\u2014students and community members\u2014to the 29th annual <\/span>Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation<\/span><\/a>. What followed was a harmonious fusion of rhythmic movements and layered voices that ascended to keynote speaker Chuck D of rap group Public Enemy. The author and political activist presented \u201cRace, Rap, and Reality: Supporting Our Youth in the Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as They Face the Unique Challenges of Today.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Mohamed Sallam, director of <\/span>the <\/span>Pan-Afrikan Center<\/span>, provided an opportunity for students to imagine the event in hopes of advancing a contemporary understanding of King\u2019s legacy of equality, service, and peace. Conversations that have continued since the convocation, Sallam said, reflect Augsburg\u2019s celebration of diversity and commitment to speaking out against injustice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur passionate students put on a wonderful event that has continued to spark discussions on campus about race and equality,\u201d said Sallam, who has guided the center for 10 years. \u201cThey are continuing MLK\u2019s work by educating themselves and doing what they can to influence the social and political climate in which we live. Chuck D inspired us all to be the change in our own neighborhoods, and we\u2019ve heard and seen students and faculty working to do just that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Auggies lead the charge toward peace<\/h2>\n

The program occurred during a \u201cdifficult time in our nation,\u201d Sallam said. In December, the United States marked 150 years since ratification of the U.S. Constitution\u2019s 13th amendment, declaring slavery illegal. Yet national headlines about ingrained racism, Sallam said, signal the need for renewed discussion and engagement about our \u201cunfinished work toward equality.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re facing major challenges and complexities in our day, particularly when it comes to policing in communities of color,\u201d he added. \u201cAnd because of Augsburg\u2019s inclusive culture, I think it\u2019s easy to feel like it can\u2019t happen here. But the Jamar Clark shooting last year in Minneapolis showed us that we need to be a part of the broad social movement toward progress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The event wasn\u2019t focused solely on the black or African-American experience, Sallam stressed. Students of many nations and races collaborated to ensure issues of injustice facing other countries and all people remain a part of the discourse. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur students are passionate about shining a light on those injustices throughout the world, and they are leading the charge toward peace,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

During the program, students expressed their anger, pain, and hope through art\u2014spoken word, dance, instrumental music. Sallam said his role is not to temper students\u2019 enthusiasm, but to encourage them to direct their passion into education and thoughtful, appropriate discussion and action.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cStudents can be very ambitious about what ought to happen, so I help them identify creative ways to engage and galvanize the community to be a more just place to live,\u201d Sallam said. \u201cI remind them that they are college students first, and that achieving in their field can advance the cause by putting them in a position to develop a network of educated, engaged people to create positive change in our world.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The <\/span>MLK Convocation<\/span><\/a> is part of the Augsburg Convocation Series, an annual lineup of speakers who encourage the campus community to consider the power of vision in a world of tension.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dimension 2, Goal 6, Strategy 6:<\/strong> Publicly advance core commitments.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014by Kate Elliott<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Augsburg\u2019s Hoversten Chapel was filled to capacity as Student Body President Duina Hernandez \u201916 welcomed a mosaic of faces\u2014students and community members\u2014to the 29th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation. What followed was a harmonious fusion of rhythmic movements and layered voices that ascended to keynote speaker Chuck D of rap group Public Enemy. The …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-strategy6"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":256,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112\/revisions\/256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/augsburg2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}