Reflection on the 2024 MLK Convocation

Dear SMC Family,

Following a very successful Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Celebration in 2023, Laura and I again partnered to provide vision and leadership for the 2024 MLK Convocation (a program of the SMC Office of the President). During fall semester, a committee of sixteen students, staff, and faculty met every two weeks to put together a week of programming, including a full day of events on Dr. King’s birthday. It was exciting to see so many engaged community members sitting around the conference table in the Durick Library. During our first meeting, Interim President Lewis Thayne joined us and spoke of the impact Dr. King’s vision had on his own understanding of Beloved Community. As we began to envision this year’s event, Dr. Jolivette Anderson-Douoning (History Department) suggested The Fierce Urgency of Now (referenced in Dr. King’s 1963 I Have a Dream and 1967 Beyond Vietnam speeches) as the theme for MLK Convocation. It immediately reverberated throughout the committee. We knew this was the direction we were looking for.

As we began planning for the keynote speaker, different names emerged, but the most prominent name was Professor Emerita Traci Griffith, Racial Justice Program Director, ACLU Massachusetts. The committee made a unanimous decision to invite her to be the keynote speaker and Prof. Griffith received two standing ovations at her January 15 keynote speech. Among the other speakers were SMC students,  faculty, Center Directors, Rock point Highschool students, Winooski High School students from Dr. Anderson-Douoning dual enrollment course, and guests.

This year, MLK Convocation events were scheduled from Monday through Friday and highlighted our unique and wonderful campus spaces (Makerspace, Media Creation Studio, Alliot, Dion Student Center, and more). Another highlight was the recording of Rev. David Theroux, SSE, Rev. David Cray, SSE and Director of Purposeful Learning Heidi St. Peter who shared their personal experiences in Selma and Louisiana working among Black people and those marginalized. The wonderful SMC Gospel Choir that vigorously sang Civil Rights songs from the 60s in Alliot during the lunch hour was enjoyed by all.

We ended the week feeling a sense of euphoria and exhaustion, but as we gazed upon the incredible artwork created by the new art club, Creative Commons, we certainly felt a sense of accomplishment. If you have not had a chance to see the phenomenal interpretive mural depicting the words The Fierce Urgency of Now, please stop by Dion on the second floor and pause for a moment and think of how it might inspire you to impact the world you influence.

As we move forward into Black History Month we hope you will reflect on the possibility of a future in which we are truly able to realize Dr. King’s Beloved Community and a place where all feel the joy of living together, especially here at Saint Michael’s College. We invite you to contact us with ideas for speakers and events for the 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation.

With Gratefulness,

Vernita Weller, Student Success Advisor and Laura Crain, Library Director

Check out a photo gallery from MLK Convocation