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The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s work for justice continues, but it has to take on new depths, according to Denise Taliaferro Baszile, PhD, of Miami University in Ohio. Baszile, associate dean of Diversity and Student Experience and professor of curriculum and cultural studies, was the featured speaker at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s 37^th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Luncheon on Wednesday, Jan. 22 in the Morris University Center’s Meridian Ballroom. 

“We all know King is admired for his courage, his brilliance and his integrity. But King’s most powerful gift was his wisdom, and his call to the work of justice,” said Baszile to the room of luncheon attendees. 

SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook welcomed the crowd and referenced the luncheon theme, “The Time is Always Right to do Right.” 

“Each year, we recognize Dr. King’s birthday as a prelude to Black Heritage Month, and we honor the life and legacy of the man who dedicated his efforts to bringing hope and healing to America,” said Pembrook. “In a 1965 commencement speech, ‘Remaining Awake During a Great Revolution,’ Dr. King shared the thought that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of dedicated individuals.” 

“King knew that on some days the dream would appear as a nightmare, and that the road to justice would be littered with hate, misunderstanding and failures,” said Baszile. “He also knew that the ability to inspire and be courageous are most potent when done collectively.  

“In 2020, I’m compelled to stay the course. Times are still trying. There is still a slow and agonizing pace of desegregation and a fall back into re-desegregation. There are still compromised voting rights, still growing economic inequalities, still poor educational opportunities, still anti-black sentiment and still a country extremely divided.” 

There has to be another “revolution,” according to Baszile, and it will resemble the one envisioned by the late activists James and Grace Lee Boggs. 

“The next revolution will require a two-sided transformational change,” Baszile continued. “It will not solely involve a commitment to changing our unjust institutions, but more fundamentally, a commitment to changing ourselves. It will require us to figure out how to be more human, human beings.” 

“On the road to becoming more human, we will have to rethink our revolutionary approach,” she said. “To do right in a complicated world, our best strategies are probably not going to involve overthrow, rebellion, war, marches, shouting each other down and the like. It is about living everyday life with a revolutionary state of mind that prioritizes the kind of justice supported by community, imagination, education, purpose, well-being, love and joy.

“It is these micro-revolutions that will prove Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words that it is ‘Always the right time to do right.’”

Another highlight of the luncheon was the award presentations. The following were honored for their outstanding achievements and contributions:  

• Community Humanitarian - Angela I. Gray, social worker, Alton High School, East Alton 

• Scholarship - Jullianne Faye Bigueras, senior, English secondary education, Saipan, Northern Marianas Islands 

• High School Essay - Taylor Jones, O’Fallon Township High School, O’Fallon 

• High School Poetry – Brianna Davis, Parkway West High School, St. Louis 

• High School Visual Arts – Delaney Holliday, Belleville West High School, Belleville

Photos:
Denise Taliaferro Baszile, PhD, associate dean of Diversity and Student Experience and professor of curriculum and cultural ctudies at Miami University in Ohio, was the featured speaker at SIUE’s 37^th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. 

Congratulating the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. awardees are SIUE Chancellor Randy Pembrook and Baszile. Winners from left to right: Brianna Davis, Parkway West High School, St. Louis, High School Poetry; Jullianne Faye Bigueras, senior, English secondary education, Saipan, Northern Marianas Islands; Scholarship; Taylor Jones, O’Fallon Township High School, O’Fallon, High School Essay; and Angela I. Gray, social worker, Alton High School, East Alton, Community Humanitarian.

The SIUE Gospel Choir performed at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.