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_Graphic by Jesse Perue_
_Faith Brown is a freshman psychology major at MU. She is an opinion columnist who writes about introspective takes on modern society for The Maneater._
Recently, MU created an event to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which took place Jan. 26 via Zoom. From a cursory glance, it looked as though the university was headed in the right direction in its attempt to recognize Black history. In reality, that’s not the case.
Though MU did not include Dr. Martin Luther King’s doctorate title, at least it got the majority of his name correct as opposed to the all too familiar “Martin Luther” we usually see. Despite its success at giving MLK Jr. the right title, the celebration is just another classic strategy that nearly every institution uses: aiming to appease Black students with just one day honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Judging by the list of 17 sponsors on the event’s webpage, the university did not include much involvement of Black, student-run organizations within the university. They enlisted the help of two Black organizations — members of the historically Black fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha and the Central Missouri Chapter of The Links Incorporated. Only using two Black organizations is insufficient for a project involving Black history, especially when there are 30+ Black-governed organizations they could have reached out to coordinate the event. MU should be enlisting more help from Black organizations, especially for events that are aimed to benefit Black students.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., while an extraordinary figure of the Civil Rights Movement, is not the only Black man in existence. It’s almost a guarantee that the university will not recognize that fact, and will only document Dr. King’s life instead of commemorating more Civil Rights leaders. It has met its institutionalized quota for Black history and will simply stop there.
In addition to the fact the university took the easiest route in celebrating Black history, the event is barely publicized compared to MU’s promotion of basketball or football tickets. Instead, it’s only mentioned in four emails that get buried in hundreds of others.
MU’s failure to spread awareness of this event makes it seem as though they want to say they’ve done something progressive without having to actually call any attention to it. MU’s unenthusiastic approach toward the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King seems performative.
When the Zoom presentation aired on Jan. 26, the quality of it was sufficient while still feeling a bit rushed. MU had plenty of resources at their disposal that they chose not to utilize, which made the presentation seem more of an obligation than a celebration.
A singular event will never be enough to celebrate Black history. MU should’ve had many of these kinds of events in the past, as well as continue to educate its students on Black history throughout the years.
_As part of the fight against racial injustice, The Maneater is encouraging readers to donate to Facing History and Ourselves, an organization that aims to teach students how to reform and understand racism in history rather than ignore it. Donate at: https://www.facinghistory.org/_
_Edited by Sofi Zeman | szeman@themaneater.com_