SMU President R. Gerald Turner, SMU SAMSA director Jennifer Jones, Paul Quinn College Coordinator of Community Parnterships Elizabeth Wattley, and Paul Quinn College Coordinator of Career Development and Student Leadership Greg Shirley march yesterday evening during the MLK Unity Walk as a part of MLK Week 2009. MLK Week is sponsored by SMU SAMSA and Paul Quinn College Student Affairs. (Kevin Todora)

SMU President R. Gerald Turner and the Voices of Inspiration Gospel Choir led a group of students and administrators from SMU and Paul Quinn College down Bishop Boulevard Wednesday evening in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Unity Walk began at 5:30 p.m. in the Bob Hope Lobby of the Meadows School of the Arts and ended in the commons of the Hughes-Trigg student center. Participants sang songs and held lit candles while walking.

The walk is part of Paul Quinn and SMU’s MLK Week celebration. Both schools are teaming up to celebrate King’s birthday with events such as Monday’s MLK Day of Service and Tuesday’s Inauguration Watch Party.

Paul Quinn College is hosting a lecture titled “Living the Dream: Education, Economics and Equality” today at 7 p.m. SMU is hosting a “Unity Mixer” at 8 p.m. on Friday.

Turner spoke at the end of the walk, citing King’s dreams and the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. Turner said Obama’s accomplishment was in “some ways, the culmination of the goals that Dr. King had.”

“It’s a great day to celebrate Dr. King,” Turner said. “Somewhere Dr. King had to have given a great speech at 11.”

SMU student Darren Bauchan said he couldn’t believe how far blacks have come.

“It’s almost unbelievable,” he said.

In addition to celebrating Obama, others took the time to acknowledge the struggles and history of past and current blacks.

SMU student Jamal Stephens said he attended the walk because we “cannot see where we’re going. We can only see where we’ve been.”

Paul Quinn student, Chavara Hamilton, noted that more people are coming together as one, but that racial issues still remain in some places.

“We can’t get ahead unless we work as one,” she said.