Laney students and staff banded together Aug. 28 in the Quad to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, August 28, 1963.
Presented by Laney’s Black Student Union, the event’s first half featured music, readings and spoken word poetry detailing the past and current status of civil rights and racial equality in the Bay Area and beyond, as well as chronicling Dr. Martin Luther King’s lasting effect on America’s perspectives on race and diversity.
Classified Senate President James Blake, English Instructor Antonio Watkins, and Peralta Colleges Foundation Director Romeo Garcia presented excerpts from King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech.
Communications Chair Dr. Angela Cherry preceded the reading of King’s speech with a call to action for the campus’s diverse population.
“We have a black president of Laney College. I’m here at Laney because of the Civil Rights movement. You are here, you get financial aid, you get help from the Peralta Foundation. We must do more to make sure that Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream comes true.”
“We must continue to dream, and fight against the injustices we suffer as a people,” said BSU President Jabari Shaw in his concluding statements.
BSU had a table at the event, as well as the Black Caucus of California Community Colleges and the Human Rights Coalition.