Valdosta State University will host Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Ceremony: A Celebration of Diversity at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 16, on the steps of the Student Union. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, retirees, and friends of the university are invited to attend.
 
“As an institution dedicated to creating a culture of inclusive excellence, we must commemorate Dr. King's contributions to civil rights, the progress the nation achieved through it, and the unfinished pursuit of social justice that continues to this day,” said Dr. Gerald Williams, interim director of the Department of Student Diversity and Inclusion.
 
Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Ceremony: A Celebration of Diversity will include a performance by student members of XChange Ministries, a welcome by Maya Mapp, Student Government Association president, and a speech by Dr. Calvin Walker, director of VSU’s African American Studies Program. A reception will follow.
 
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1929, Dr. King became the iconic face of the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1900s, dedicating his life to ending racial injustice in the United States until his assassination in 1968.
 
“King sought equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged, and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest,” according to History.com. “He was the driving force behind watershed events such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 and is remembered each year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a U.S. federal holiday since 1986.”