Vanderbilt University Professor Victor Anderson
Keynote speech by Vanderbilt University Professor Victor Anderson

In Denison tradition, we dedicated our day to the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.

Classes were canceled Jan. 24, 2022, as we set aside time to learn from a man whose thoughts, words, and actions defined an era and created a blueprint for civic engagement. We began the morning with a chilly but spirited march from Swasey Chapel, where hundreds of students, staff, and faculty joined in a symbolic walk in King’s shoes.

On a chilly Monday morning, hundreds of students, staff, and faculty make their way from Swasey Chapel for the MLK Legacy March.
Na’Maya Perry ’22 kicks off the MLK Legacy March outside of Swasey Chapel.
More than 350 students, staff, and faculty members marched from Swasey Chapel to Slayter Hall Student Union, where Denison’s MLK Celebration continued with music and readings.

Na’Maya Perry ’22 kicks off the MLK Legacy March where more than 350 students, staff, and faculty members marched from Swasey Chapel to Slayter Hall Student Union, where Denison’s MLK Celebration continued with music and readings.

Dashn White ’22 welcomes the crowd at the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration inside Swasey Chapel on Jan. 24, 2022. “As a fellow Denisonian,” White said, “I pose this question to you: ‘Where do we stand at times of challenge and controversy?’ This question is why we are here today.”
Micah Arnold ’22 introduces the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration keynote speaker, the Rev. Dr. Victor Anderson.
  1. Dashn White ’22 welcomes the crowd at the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration inside Swasey Chapel on Jan. 24, 2022. “As a fellow Denisonian,” White said, “I pose this question to you: ‘Where do we stand at times of challenge and controversy?’ This question is why we are here today.”
  2. Micah Arnold ’22 introduces the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration keynote speaker, the Rev. Dr. Victor Anderson.

Later inside Swasey, we heard a stirring keynote address from Vanderbilt University Professor Victor Anderson, titled “Between King’s Arc of Justice and the World House: How Shall We Then Live?” Anderson’s timely examination of our polarized society recalled King’s pervasive confidence in a world “measured by a long arc bending toward justice. And the end of that arc is a world house and beloved community.”

The Rev. Dr. Victor Anderson, a professor of ethics and society at Vanderbilt University, speaks about his first time hearing Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech: “I, too, at 8 years old, was swept up by the enthusiasm of the masses and the rhythms of his oration.”
Dr. Anderson delivers his keynote address, “Between King’s Arch of Justice and the World House: How Shall We Then Live?,” at Swasey Chapel. “We can no longer leave that to a prior generation …. It is now handed down to us. It is in our hands, the power to affect social change through deep Socratic questioning and — guess what else — imagination.”

The Rev. Dr. Victor Anderson, a professor of ethics and society at Vanderbilt University, speaks about his first time hearing Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech: “I, too, at 8 years old, was swept up by the enthusiasm of the masses and the rhythms of his oration.”

“MLK Day is always an important day at Denison,” President Adam Weinberg tells the audience at Swasey Chapel. “It's the only day — it's the only time — each year that we take a day away from classes as a community to reflect, to learn, and to celebrate together.”

“MLK Day is always an important day at Denison,” President Adam Weinberg tells the audience at Swasey Chapel. “It’s the only day — it’s the only time — each year that we take a day away from classes as a community to reflect, to learn, and to celebrate together.”

“If we look long enough and hard enough,” Anderson said, “we might find traces of the great hope of democratic fulfillment, of that impossible possibility of increasing love between individuals and community.”

Denison President Adam Weinberg, addressing the crowd at Swasey, noted the significance of the day — and the importance of continuing to strive to uphold King’s dream.

“We need more ways to grapple with, to understand, and quite frankly to make progress on the issues Dr. King articulated, fought for, and led us on,” Weinberg said. “We have inherited legacies of slavery and racism, and we need to be the ones to deal with that legacy to create a more equitable and inclusive future.”

January 31, 2022