The University of Pittsburgh commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. through a week-long celebration called MLK Week. Over 800 students participated in various community service events honoring Dr. King's message of service. The week also included educational sessions on social justice issues and a keynote speech from a prominent scholar on continuing the fight for justice and inclusion. The events demonstrated the university's commitment to Dr. King's legacy and goal of creating a just community for all.

1. Division of Student Affairs 738 William Pitt Union
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260
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University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Martin Luther King Junior Celebrated on Campus
By: Deanna Uzarski, Division of Student Affairs
“Time is neutral. It can be used for either good or evil.” Dr. Martin Luther King Junior delivered
this message almost fifty years ago on this very campus, reminding students at the University of
Pittsburgh that we have the opportunity to make a difference at any moment. Pitt certainly took
Dr. King’s advice and has commemorated his legacy for years by emulating what he stood for by
celebrating MLK Day through service opportunities and highlighting social justice issues.
This year, the office of PittServes and the office of Cross-Cultural Leadership and Development
(CCLD) collaborated to celebrate Dr. King and took it a step further by hosting “MLK Week”
from Saturday, January 10 to Friday, January 23. During the week, students were able to
participate in several service events from collecting food for Greater Pittsburgh Community
Food Bank to sorting clothes for Pitt’s Give a Thread Campaign and summing up the service
component with the MLK Day of Service on the 19. Almost 800 students gathered to make MLK
Day “A day ON, not a day OFF,” by volunteering at various locations in Pittsburgh.
Tristan Horan, a Student Civic Engagement Member, participated in several service events
throughout the week and reflects on his experience saying, “MLK Jr. was a servant to the people.
The organizations students visited during the MLK Week of service retain some of the same
values that MLK Jr. and his coalition fought for almost 50 years ago. By donating time to these
facilities, the University can continue MLK Jr.'s legacy and continue to better the world we live
in.”
Misti McKeehan, the director of the office of PittServes, enthusiastically agrees with Horan by
telling us Pitt’s community partners were very appreciative of the hard work and positive impact
students made through their voluntary efforts. McKeehan also mentions the importance of
reflecting on one’s service and seeing how it relates to social justice issues by adding, “The
social justice part of that is thinking about why that service is important. It’s a piece that can
easily be missed by people sitting in seats of privilege.”
The social justice component of MLK Week reiterates Dr. King’s message by encouraging
students to make where they live “a just community and not just a community.” Linda Moore,
director of CCLD, describes what a “just community” means to her by saying, “I want a
community where we truly embrace one anothers' differences, where we truly embrace one
another’s beliefs, where we truly embrace on another’s individuality. That, to me, is moving
towards a just community and not just a community.”
Moore, along with Sherdina Harper who is Coordinator of CCLD Programming, helped integrate
social justice awareness into MLK Week by educating students on the message of Dr. King.
Harper states that Dr. King strived “to bring awareness to the injustices of the world, whatever
they may be. A lot of times when we look at injustice we look at the black and white, or the color

2. issue but it’s not just that; it’s the handicapped, LGBTQ students or others who have injustices.
It’s to bring light to all of it and to make us as a university more educated on the injustices—
period.”
Each year, a social justice symposium is held in honor of MLK, exploring a different social
justice issues that are relevant today. This year’s theme was “Race Matters…Or Does It?: A
University’s Response.” The symposium was held on Friday, January 16 and included a riveting
morning with Dr. Marc Lamont Hill. Hill is a host of HuffPost Live and BET News, as well as a
political contributor for CNN. In 2011, he was named one of America’s 100 most influential
Black leaders by Ebony magazine. He has spent the past few years traveling across the U.S.,
bringing a powerful message to universities and other institutions about justice. Hill spoke about
the America’s need to listen to every voice and not just those voices that speak the loudest. “All
of us need to have a voice and need to be heard; all of use need to be recognized as human. Dr.
King understood that, but we live in the world where many don’t” Hill says. He also touched on
the progress that the U.S. has made over the past 50 years in terms of accepting others by saying
America is “a country that doesn’t just grow old, its grows up.” Hill’s inspirational message
about social justice reflected the doctrine of Dr. King by reminding listeners that these issues are
relevant to everyone, not just to those who are oppressed.
The symposium continued with breakout sessions during which students, faculty and staff
participated in workshops that explored social justice issues. These focus groups were followed
by lunch during which a diverse panel of students discussed some of their experiences as Pitt.
The symposium closed Friday evening with a Town Hall Meeting in the WPU Assembly Room.
The Panel featured James K. Loftus, Chief of Police, University of Pittsburgh, Deborah Walker,
Manager, Office of Municipal Investigations, Rashall Brackney, Pittsburgh Commander, Major
Crimes City of Pittsburgh, Beth Pittinger, Police Citizen Review Board Director, and was led by
Dr. Hill. Students participated by writing down their questions, which were then shared with the
panel and discussed. The questions focused on the role of racial biases and current issues facing
Pittsburgh’s Police force. The panel expressed their hope for a good relationship between the
Pittsburgh Police and students. Loftus shared his point of view by saying, “We are in this
together; the police are the public, the public are the police. You must reflect on the community
you serve.”
MLK Week closed on January 23with a “March for Justice.” Black Action Society as well as
other student leaders led the march through the streets of Oakland, encouraging students to see
Pitt’s campus as a part of the larger Pittsburgh community and reflect on how make the
community just. The events of MLK Week showed how Pitt agrees with Dr. King that “Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The participation of hundreds of students between
the March for Justice, service events, and the Social Justice Symposium is a true testament to the
legacy of Dr. King and the impact he made by visiting Pitt’s campus almost fifty years ago
today.