It was a packed ballroom at the Hanover Inn at Dartmouth College on Wednesday to hear from Dr. Bernice King, who spoke on the importance of the federal holiday honoring her late father and what he stood for.For Dartmouth senior Dylan Dunson, attending the event with King was not just a class assignment.”I hope to do some public service work of my own,” said Dunson. “I’m going to take some notes and see what I can retain from that.”It was also a sneak peek into what she has been putting hours of study into, as she prepares to walk across the stage and get her diploma.”Getting people out and engaging is important,” said Dunson. “It’s something I touch on a lot in the work I do on campus.”For others, Wednesday’s event was a reminder as to why Martin Luther King Jr. Day remains a federal holiday today.”Right now, we’re kind of in a battle for our national history. Whose stories get to be told, how they’re told, and who gets to be remembered and commemorated, and how,” said Dartmouth College professor Jane Henderson.And the role the holiday plays today, in a country strained with political tension.”With everything going on right now, it feels ever more important to have those conversations elevated,” said professor Arianna Varuolo-Clarke.Dr. King and award-winning author Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor talked about the heightened need for non-violent activism in the U.S. as tensions between ICE and protestors in Minnesota continue to be physical and, in some cases, deadly.”If we lose our humanity, we lose,” said King. “People are traumatized.”King left the younger people in the room with one message. To get involved and speak up.
It was a packed ballroom at the Hanover Inn at Dartmouth College on Wednesday to hear from Dr. Bernice King, who spoke on the importance of the federal holiday honoring her late father and what he stood for.
For Dartmouth senior Dylan Dunson, attending the event with King was not just a class assignment.
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“I hope to do some public service work of my own,” said Dunson. “I’m going to take some notes and see what I can retain from that.”
It was also a sneak peek into what she has been putting hours of study into, as she prepares to walk across the stage and get her diploma.
“Getting people out and engaging is important,” said Dunson. “It’s something I touch on a lot in the work I do on campus.”
For others, Wednesday’s event was a reminder as to why Martin Luther King Jr. Day remains a federal holiday today.
“Right now, we’re kind of in a battle for our national history. Whose stories get to be told, how they’re told, and who gets to be remembered and commemorated, and how,” said Dartmouth College professor Jane Henderson.
And the role the holiday plays today, in a country strained with political tension.
“With everything going on right now, it feels ever more important to have those conversations elevated,” said professor Arianna Varuolo-Clarke.
Dr. King and award-winning author Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor talked about the heightened need for non-violent activism in the U.S. as tensions between ICE and protestors in Minnesota continue to be physical and, in some cases, deadly.
“If we lose our humanity, we lose,” said King. “People are traumatized.”
King left the younger people in the room with one message. To get involved and speak up.
