Fifty-three years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Syracuse University and gave a speech at what was then called Sims Dining Hall. Now, a plaque dedicated to King hangs on a wall of the Shaffer Art Building Galleria, near where he gave his speech.

On Wednesday, Chancellor Kent Syverud and his wife, Ruth Chen, a professor of practice at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, partnered with Hendricks Chapel to host a plaque dedication for King, who was assassinated 50 years ago on April 4, 1968. The ceremony took place in the galleria. King visited SU in July of 1965 to speak about “The Role of Education in the Civil Rights Movement.”

Brian Konkol, dean of Hendricks Chapel, started the ceremony by speaking about the impact of King’s assassination on future generations’ commitment to justice and equality.

“We take stock of our present, and in doing so … consider how to best commit to fostering and supporting an inclusive, accessible campus community of opportunity for a richly diverse student body,” Konkol said.

Special Assistant to the Chancellor Barry Wells spoke about his experience discovering how important King has been at SU. In 1971, the university established the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Sims Hall.

The Department of African American Studies also hosts an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Public Affairs Lecture, which hosts a guest speaker. That event recently celebrated its 35th anniversary.

SU also hosts an annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in the Carrier Dome, featuring an award ceremony and a guest speaker.

“In a very visible way, Dr. King and his legacy has a very special relationship with this institution of higher education,” Wells said.  

Wells added that he believes if Dr. King were alive today he would be proud of the rise in activism across the country.

“If Dr. King were alive today, in my opinion, he would no doubt support the students of Parkland as well as the Black Lives Matter movement, the dreamers, teachers on strike demanding for better wages, and all other movements for social justice and equality,” Wells said.

The anniversary of King’s assassination should not be a time to reflect on how far people have come, Wells said, but the work that still needs to be done.

During his time as the dean of the Vanderbilt University Law School, Syverud lead an initiative to have similar plaques hung around Vanderbilt’s campus at spots where King spoke.

“My greatest hope is that because of this plaque, generations of students and and visitors to Syracuse University will have the curiosity to read and think about what Dr. King actually said,” Syverud said.

Published on April 4, 2018 at 10:39 pm