“Let us march on ‘til victory is won” could be heard as a group of almost 50 people sang and walked down Bishop Boulevard in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Wednesday afternoon.
“This week, and this [Unity Walk], is a serious one; relative to what brings us together and the enjoinment we have together is a reflection of the success of the dream by Dr. King,” President R. Gerald Turner said. “No matter how far back you look into history, for some reason or another, we always find that it’s easier to separate ourselves than to unite us, and it’s always easier to find distinctions than it is commonality.”
However, students, faculty, administration and members of the Dallas community united for the annual Unity Walk, which is part of Southern Methodist University’s Student Activities and Multicultural Student Affairs’ (SAMSA) Dream Week 2011, commemorating King and his dream to end segregation.
Golbahar Dadyan, the director of the School of Metaphysics in Dallas, and Kera Everett, a teacher at the school, heard about the Unity Walk from SMU’s website.
“I want to celebrate the lives of individuals who dedicated their lives to peace,” Dadyan said. “We need to join together to create peace within ourselves and within our community.”
President R. Gerald Turner, Student Body President Jake Torres, Student Trustee Haynes Strader, Vice President of the Association of Black Students Fred Leach and President of the College Hispanic American Students Claudia Sandoval led the group from the flagpole down Bishop Boulevard, ending at the Hughes-Trigg Student Center.
The group joined together in singing after SMU’s Voices of Inspiration Gospel Choir began “Lift Every Voice.” As they walked, they continued singing “Bye and Bye,” “This Little Light of Mine” and “We Shall Overcome.”
Leaving the flagpole, there were around 30 people, however, when the walk ended, there were more than 50.
After the walk, there was a reflection. Turner and Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Lori White talked and the Voices of Inspiration Gospel Choir sang “King Jesus Is A Listenin’.”
Junior Jasmine Carr shared her personal reflection of Dream Week, reminding the group that King’s dream continues.
“A lot of the time we fall into the mindset that it’s over, that all the work is done,” Carr said. “But there’s still work that can be done, and you are a part of that dream and a part of that task.”
“We were all created in the image of God,” Turner said. “It was meant to be a unifying thing because there’s consistency to it. It’s a statement that applies to all of us—over all times, nations, races and whatever else.”
SMU’s Dream Week is a week-long event honoring Martin Luther King Jr. from Jan. 17-21. Tomorrow there will be a Unity Mixer at 7:30 p.m. in the Hughes-Trigg Varsity.
