UT hosts annual Unity Celebration

Students, faculty and members of the Toledo community paid tribute to the life of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday at the 16^th annual Unity Celebration held in Savage Arena. This year’s theme was “Reconciliation Through Service: Education, Social Justice and Religion,” the three pillars that defined Martin Luther King’s philosophy and movement.

The event kicked off at 9 a.m. The keynote speaker, Donzaleigh Abernathy, award-winning actress and daughter of civil rights icon Ralph David Abernathy, spoke at length about her relationship with Dr. King, the Civil Rights Movement and what is needed to continue his work today.

The event featured performances from the University of Toledo’s Gospel Choir, the UT Fire Squad Dance Team, Scott High School’s Marching Band, Toledo School for the Arts and the recognition of the MLK and African American Leadership Council of United Way Scholarship Award recipients and various speakers.

“I remembered a man who loved me,” Abernathy began as she described her life with Dr. King, “a man who knew me in my mother’s womb. Who was there when I was a baby and when I learned to talk. He was there that Sunday morning when he lifted me up before God and blessed me as a baby. He kissed me and he stood there as my godfather. He was there when I learned to walk and swim.”

During her talk, she described King as a courageous man who overcame his fears, but who would not have been able to become the man he was without the people he surrounded himself with. When Rosa Parks was arrested, Ralph Abernathy convinced King to join him in the bus boycott and become head of the Montgomery Bus Boycott Organization. This ushered in the Civil Rights Movement that would lead to the March from Selma to Montgomery and his famous “I Have A Dream” speech.

Abernathy said that just like her “Uncle Martin,” she too has a dream.

“We will all come together and we will be the America for all. Not the America for the some. Not the America for the rich, but the America for the poor, for the middle class, for the disenfranchised, for the handicapped, for the gay, for the women, for the blacks, for all of America,” she said during her speech.

We can do this, Donzaleigh explained, through nonviolent protests and demonstrations, because violence cannot bring about a peaceful society. Her father once told her that no one sits down at a table to understand each other, and that is why people hate and fear others who are different. She said that only through understanding can we have a just and peaceful world.

“I wanted to understand everyone’s plight in the US,” said Michael Jones, a fourth-year criminal justice major, about why he attended the event. “Today is a day to come together with all people of all races and ethnicities.”

Along with Abernathy, Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur spoke at the event. Each talked about their uncertainty of the future of this country, adding that only a united community can preserve the legacy and actions of King and his movement.

“I wanted to see more people come out to see the better side of humanity,” said Bryanna Hardy, a fourth-year recreational therapy major who attended the event. “I learned a lot and enjoyed getting the perspective of someone who knew Martin Luther King personally.”