Memorial Church Hosts Dr. King Commemoration

The Harvard Chaplains, Memorial Church, the Harvard Foundation, and student groups joined Monday night for “A Celebration of the Life and Message of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” in Memorial Church.

Rami Nashashibi, executive director of the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, delivered the keynote speech.

The celebration kicked off Interfaith Awareness Week, which consists of daily diversity-themed events sponsored by a range of religious, activist, and academic organizations.

Debra A. Dawson, a staff assistant to the Harvard Chaplains, said that the event used to be held on the federal holiday celebrating King’s birthday in January. Organizers decided to push the event back to February to accommodate students who were not on campus during Wintersession.

“A lot of the community is disappointed, but we’re trying to do it for the students,” Dawson said.

The celebration included performances from several student groups, including the Kuumba Singers and the spoken word poetry group Speak out Loud.

In his speech “MLK and Spiritual Agitation: An American Muslim Reflection,” Nashashibi spoke about how King inspired his own work for social justice. King’s message still applies to modern day activists working in the face of recent “ridiculous” legislation that marginalizes immigrants, Muslims, the working class, and other minorities, Nashashibi said.

Aubrey J. Walker ’15, who recited a passage from one of King’s speeches, said Nashashibi’s address made the event unique.

Nashashibi reminded the audience of religious as well as racial diversity and encouraged his listeners to “reach across comfortable barriers,” said Walker, who is an intern at the Harvard Foundation and president of the Freshman Black Table, a subsidiary of the Black Students Association.

“I couldn’t have imagined a more powerful, more moving, significant event that I could have attended,” Walker said.

Christina C. Twicken ’14, who attended the event, said that she had already been interested in activism prior to the commemoration, but that the event reaffirmed that commitment and gave her the chance to celebrate with people who were similarly minded.

“I thought the imagery was really beautiful,” Twicken said. “I definitely came here because I wanted to be in an environment where a lot of people wanted to celebrate activism.”­

—Staff writer Samuel Y. Weinstock can be reached at sweinstock@college.harvard.edu.