The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com News 2 — Wednesday, January 19, 2022 CAMPUS LIFE At the foot of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library, two microphones were set up. A group of students congregated around a small table, serving themselves hot chocolate, while clusters of families and students began to arrive. For the past 16 years, the Michigan Community Scholars Program has honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on the namesake holiday with their Circle of Unity celebration. The event returned in person this year, following last year’s virtual installment. The program began with a performance from Michigan natives Joe Reilly and Julie Beutel, who sang a series of songs, including Reilly’s own song entitled ‘The Circle.’ Attendees formed a large circle and were encouraged to participate in a sing-along to tunes inspiring action and uplifting marginalized groups. William Alt, MCSP Community Engagement Coordinator said the event was very much student-led. Many of the performances featured students, including a rendition of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran’s “Everything Has Changed,” which was performed by Blue Records, a recording group at the University of Michigan. LSA sophomore Sarah Oguntomilade followed this performance with a reading of her poem, “Enemies to Lovers,” which explores the dual-edged nature of history and how the reprehensible actions of the past inform the present day. “Terribly horrible events have created terribly beautiful realities, and because of that, nothing is black and white, everything is in the grey,” Oguntomilade said. “Through this lense, I share the story of my life and how I’ve gotten to this point, all while using the metaphor of enemies to lovers, my favorite literary genre.” Oguntomilade also read another original poem called “My Name Is,” which Oguntomilade said highlights her own life journey with faith and how faith connects with Dr. King’s advocacy. “‘My Name Is’ also describes my life and my story, however this time through the lense of faith,” Ogutomilade said. “I recognize that the faith that brought great pain in the past is the same faith that drove Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in his activism and his peace movements.” LSA sophomore Leilani Fonseca then spoke briefly about the impact she has been able to create as a peer mentor through MCSP. “It is through communities like (MCSP) that I feel like my dreams will soon be a reality,” Fonseca said. “The idea that I will one day be able to give back and support my community in the way they have supported (me) will always bring warmth to my heart.” As the event came to a close, Reilly and Beutel performed more songs. Papers with QR codes were handed out, directing attendees to information about the Freedom to Vote Act and providing phone numbers to the Senate and the House of Representatives, as well as a template for those interested in writing letters to members of Congress about the Freedom to Vote Act. Alt also said the focus of the event was to acknowledge Dr. King’s life as well as a way for the community to come together. “We always try to stress here in MCSP that you have a place here,” Alt said. “Dr. King’s message of the Beloved Community, this idea that everybody has a right to participate, that everybody has a right and a place to belong in this community.” Daily Staff Reporter Madison Kraft can be reached at madimk@ umich.edu. The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is publishing weekly on Wednesdays for the Winter 2022 semester by students at the University of Michigan. One copy is available free of charge to all readers. Additional copies may be picked up at the Daily’s office for $2. 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SYMPOSIUM MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. SYMPOSIUM JENNA HICKEY/Daily CAMPUS LIFE CARLY BRECHNER Daily Staff Reporter The University of Michigan Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium memorial keynote lecture Monday featured speakers Maria de Lourdes Hinojosa Ojeda and Dr. Rashad Richey. The virtual keynote was one of many events held as a part of the 2022 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium titled “This Is America.” Organized by the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, the Symposium has been an annual event since 1986. This year, the events were originally scheduled to take place in person at Hill Auditorium, but were moved to a virtual format due to rising COVID-19 cases. Keynote speaker Richey –– a professor, political analyst and Emmy-nominated broadcaster –– discussed the transformation and palatability of Rev. Dr. King’s ideas, as well as how he was perceived by the public. “We have cherry picked what we would like Dr. King to be,” Richey said. “Dr. King was called radical. They called him a communist. They said he was a socialist. The same people who called him that were simply adversarial to a policy change in America.” Richey also emphasized the importance of understanding the difference between equality and equity. “This issue of equality versus equity has been front and center in many conversations in this country. I think some people have intentionally mischaracterized the two,” Richey said. “Dr. King talked about something called genuine equality as opposed to equality as it relates to mobility, to the Civil Rights Bill that allows you to go places. He said ‘we need genuine equality.’ That was his way of saying equity.” Hinojosa, multimedia journalist and author, spoke regarding the significance of both owning and sharing one’s history and story while connecting her messages to the life and lessons of Dr. King. Speaker explores the lighthouse efect, finding a collective humanity Author Steve Pemberton on impact of racial tensions, fight for justice CAMPUS LIFE MARLEE SACKSNER Daily Staff Reporter Steve Pemberton – author, business leader and motivational speaker – spoke to over 200 members of the University of Michigan community Monday over Zoom for the University’s “This is America” Martin Luther King Jr. symposium. Pemberton centered the discussion on Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his life story, his own personal life and the lighthouse effect. This effect references a lighthouse as someone who shows up in your life and has a significant impact. The symposium was organized by the MLK Committee, sponsors, the University library and the School of Information. Dean of Libraries James Hilton thanked the committee for their efforts in creating this symposium and described the kind of speakers the committee chooses each year. The speakers are intended to honor MLK’s life and these speakers range from motivational speakers to book authors to environmentalists. “Every year the committee does a phenomenal job of finding amazing speakers,” Hilton said. “Speakers who provoke us, speakers who push us to think about the roles that discrimination, bias and structural racism play in our society and in our own lives.” Hilton also used this time to introduce Pemberton and explain why he was chosen to speak at the event. He acknowledged Pemberton’s business accomplishments, awards and philanthropy work. Read more at MichiganDaily. com NEWS Dr. King symposium features professor Lakesha Butler on health inequities Event highlights disparities in healthcare, higher education in America SEJAL PATIL Daily Staff Reporter The University of Michigan College of Pharmacy and MLK Health Sciences Committee organized a lecture entitled “This is America: Confronting Health Inequities … Writing Prescriptions for Change” to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This was the first of a complete symposium featuring future events on Medical Apartheid and Racial Disparities in Pain Management. The lecture was delivered by Lakesha Butler, a clinical professor of pharmacy practice and the director of diversity, equity and inclusion at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) School of Pharmacy. She discussed the importance of disrupting and dismantling inequities and injustices in healthcare and higher education. As a national speaker on the topics of antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion, Butler began her presentation discussing the different versions of America that exist in society. “There are two Americas. One is beautiful where millions have food and material, culture and education for their minds. They have freedom and human dignity,” Butler said. “But there is another America that has a daily ugliness. Millions are forced to live in distressed housing conditions. Unemployment is a reality in this lonely island of poverty. This causes bitterness, anguish and angst.” Event host Cherie Dotson, student affairs program manager for Student Recruitment & Outreach at the U-M College of Pharmacy, opened the lecture with remarks and a performance by Committed of the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” “We are so excited to host this event for everyone and wanted to extend a special thanks to the U-M Read more at MichiganDaily.com