By Catharine Batsios
Special for The State News
Students, student groups, local activists and peace enthusiasts spilled into the courtyard of the Beaumont Tower on Monday as it chimed loudly and poetically, "We Shall Overcome."
From there, the crowd began the frigid, but brief, trek to the rock on Farm Lane as a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.
There, a horseshoe formed and melodic voices blended in song to then introduce a moment of reflective silence for the late Rosa Parks.
Lee June, vice president of student affairs and services, read King's famous "I Have A Dream" speech. June had personal experience with King and his cause as a student.
About 45 people attended the march.
June attended Tuskegee University and joined one of King's campaigns for justice and equality.
Attendees celebrated King throughout the daylong event and focused not only on King, but the many activists, leaders and ideals that have been fought for.
Earlier in the day, about 70 people attended the second annual MLK Jr. Student Leadership Conference, "Forty Years Later: From Voting to Activism," at the Union.
It buzzed with dialogue dissecting everything from the historical movements in the 1960s, to what the current college student can do to be a proactive participant in the activist scene.
The conference had a series of four workshop sessions, a luncheon with keynote speaker and communication and public relations student Amelia Hope Stephens, and a closing session with another speaker.
Participants also received packets, some of which included King's letter from a Birmingham jail cell on April 16, 1963.
"Human progress never rolls in on the wheels (of) inevitability: it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with unity, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation," King wrote in the letter.
The theme of the conference was not only a tribute to a man famously known for his amazing capacity to unite, empower and inspire people, but as a jumping-off point for a generation that will make future political decisions.
"When you say we want justice, you say I've been mistreated; when you demand diversity, you're saying, 'Hey, as long as you let me in, I'll be fine,'" said Ernesto Todd Mireles, a speaker at a Chicano/Latino Studies program workshop.
A second workshop presented by MSU's Peace and Justice Studies bridged the gap in methods of activism with a panel of community activists from all backgrounds from the 1960s and the now college-age generation.
"The most important thing to remember when you dive headfirst into activism is to take care of yourself spiritually, emotionally and mentally … physically, too, it can consume you," said Ann Francis, a panel member and activist.
