Deepening Commitment to Social Justice Key Message at Martin Luther King Jr. Luncheon

The call for social justice — which demands that people have equal rights and opportunities in all aspects of society — was the centerpiece of two separate speeches delivered by a senior at Holy Cross and a world-renowned lecturer at the fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Luncheon.

The event was part of “Aptissimi: The Leadership Conference,” which invites student leaders to explore, develop and articulate their personal leadership styles, and one of a number of annual events sponsored by the “Hate: Not Here!” anti-bias committee. Aptissimi comes from a Jesuit philosophy of developing “as many as possible of the very best.”

Eric Collazo ’10, an English major from Houston, said he found his passion for social justice during his sophomore year when he joined the Multicultural Peer Education group, which trains student volunteers to engage other Holy Cross students on topics of diversity. At the suggestion of fellow MPE Jerry Dickinson ’09, Collazo increased his involvement in promoting social justice on campus by pushing for greater collaboration among organizations on campus, particularly among multicultural student organizations.

He was delighted to see stronger relationships among organizations on campus, but it was teaching ninth graders at Burncoat High School in Worcester last semester — as part of Holy Cross’ Teacher Education Program — that Collazo found his passion for social justice.

“Many of my students did not have much; they did not have someone who believed in them, or they simply didn’t believe they could achieve far beyond what they normally did,” he said. “In addition to teaching the required curriculum, I made sure to help my students understand that I wanted them to succeed and I truly believed that they were fully capable of doing so. Within the semester I saw such amazing change in my students.

“Students who refused to lift up their heads in class began participating in class discussions about last night’s assigned reading. Parents thanked me, such as one who came up to me and said, ‘I really appreciate what you did for my daughter. She used to hate reading, and now she reads every night and even talks to me about what she read.”

One day earlier on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Collazo, several other students and faculty at Holy Cross heard Donzaleigh Abernathy give the keynote address at the 25th annual community breakfast at Quinsigamond Community College. Her father, the Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, was Rev. King’s best friend and a leader of the civil rights movement.

Collazo said he was moved when Abernathy emphasized to the crowd that King firmly believed in serving others, and struggled to achieve equal rights and opportunities for all, not simply a certain group. He also found a link between King’s legacy and Holy Cross’ Jesuit philosophy.

“Our school’s mission is committed to ‘men and women for others’ and the idea of social justice,” he said. “It is part of the Jesuit heritage.”

Mable Millner, assistant dean of students and director of multicultural education, served as master of ceremonies at the community breakfast. She also organized the King luncheon at Holy Cross.

Following Collazo’s talk, Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington, president and founder of the Washington Consulting Group, a multicultural organizational development firm based in Baltimore, gave the keynote address titled “Intentionally Fulfilling The Dream: A Leadership Challenge for 2010.”

Washington said he was honored to be speaking in front of the packed crowd in the Hogan Ballroom and urged them to be conscious of social injustices occurring every day.

“Often it is only the Haiti situations that we notice. It takes the earthquake for us to react in our spirit of compassion. Haiti did not just get to be the poorest country in the western hemisphere during the earthquake. They were there before. So it is important that while we are paying attention — focusing our energies, our love and our life to that place — that we not forget that they will need us far beyond this very important time and that there are Haiti-like situations right in your backyards,” he said.

“I want you to get that we’re talking about social justice beyond just race. Let me remind you that women still make 68 to 72 cents on the dollar to every man.

“That the history and present violence against women and children are alive and well, and living in this room.

“That people are still being persecuted and excluded because of their religious and spiritual belief and practices if they don’t line up with the mainstream.

“That LGBT folks are being thrown out of their homes condemned to hell, and ending up homeless and disconnected not only from their families but from their churches — they are being excluded from God.

“That people are still hungry; that elderly have to decide whether they will eat or pay for medication.

“That there are still more black and brown men in prison than there are in college.

“That there is still not universal design in education so that people for disabilities have to ask for access.

“People are still being judged because they don’t speak English in the same way that we think they should speak English.”

He challenged the audience to ask themselves: What are the current day challenges? What are the things that we need to be paying attention to?

There has been great progress, he said, but he asked the audience to look where the work still needs to be done. It is easy to be lulled into complacency and warned students to avoid slipping into an idea “of having already arrived.”

Washington asked students to consider twelve “C’s” in order of achieving the “dream” intentionally, including getting conscious, communicating with yourself and others, having courage to engage with yourself and others.

Before delivering the speech, Washington asked for a moment of silence for the victims of the earthquake. He said: “Send energy to those who are working, send love and light to the people who have suffered and lost their lives during this time.”

Photo: Eric Collazo ’10 and Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington, president and founder of the Washington Consulting Group, talked about social justice in separate speeches at the fifth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Luncheon at Holy Cross.

January 22, 2010|nm