On Monday, Jan. 19, the nation celebrated the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK.) The following day, the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) hosted its fourth annual MLK Day event at the Natural Gas Conference Center.
The event was hosted by Student Engagement and Leadership Center (SELC) Assistant Director Stephanie Lawler, who opened the program with the civil rights anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” The ceremony focused on reflection, education and community engagement, featuring two guest speakers and a musical performance by the UTEP Jazz Quintet.
For attendees such as criminal justice and security studies lecturer Creslan Williams, the event served as a prelude to Black History Month, which begins in February.
“I think it’s important to teach young people of all races to stand up for themselves. I’m a member of a historically black fraternity, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated. We just had our Founders Day in January, so it kind of ties in,” Williams said. “I always try to support things here at the university, sometimes we get so caught up in teaching and events like this let us interact with not only students but other members of the faculty and staff.”
The event provided an opportunity for the El Paso and UTEP community to reflect on the messages and legacy of Dr. King and the civil rights movement. Lawler then introduced the first speaker, Brandon Render, director of UTEP’s African American Studies Department.
Render offered a historian’s perspective on MLK day, focusing on the distinction between historical facts and historical memory, which served as a common theme for the day’s speakers.
In his speech, Render discussed his ‘love, hate’ relationship with the federal holiday.
“There are a lot of students that think the civil rights movement was Martin Luther King Jr., but what I tell students is that he was only a part of the movement,” Render said. “We can learn from all those people, their stories and how they were involved in the struggle for civil rights throughout black history.”
Render encouraged the audience to explore beyond the easily googleable quotes and surface level narrative that often dominates the public’s memory of Dr. King; which sometimes stops at his most famous “I have a dream,” speech. Overlooking the evolution of that dream and shifting politics.
After Render’s speech, Lawler welcomed the UTEP Jazz quintet led by director Abel Mieles. The group performed “Alabama” a piece composed by John Coltrane and inspired by King’s speech at the funeral for the four young women killed in the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.
The ceremony concluded with the second speaker, Janace Griffin, president and founder of the El Paso Black Arts Association. Griffin’s speech, entitled “Dr. King Dreamed So That We Could Be Woke Today” confronts the harsh and dark realities of U.S. history and ongoing injustice while arguing for her audience not to carry King’s dream as a burden, but as fuel to build a better future.
Closing her speech with a call to action, she urged the audience to let MLK day be more than a reflective celebration: to be “woke,” take accountability and actively continue King’s legacy of justice, equality and collective progress.
“It’s not all about just him being a part of the civil rights movement. A lot of people were part of the civil rights movement. You know?” Griffin said. “What are you doing now moving forward? How are you engaging with your community?”
Finishing off her allotted time before the crowd was released to the waiting ‘soul food’ buffet, Griffin delivered a spirited rendition of Nikki Giovanni’s poem “Ego Tripping.” Dancing and laughing as she brought the poem’s hyperbolic imagery and playful confidence to life.
After the ceremony, Griffin restated her original call to action.
“You young folks, y’all have the energy and y’all have the voice, and y’all can wake up, you just can’t be lulled back to sleep.” Griffin said.
Reminding those attending that while history has shaped the present, it doesn’t need to define it. A reminder to carry that energy and optimism into the month and year ahead.
Jewel Ocampo is a staff reporter and may be reached at [email protected].