2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet offers 'A Testament of Hope'

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Held in person for the first time since 2019, the 48th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet gathered community members together in the Bryce Jordan Center on the evening of Jan. 15 to celebrate the civil rights leader and honor his life and legacy. Hosted by Penn State's Forum on Black Affairs, the gala event included reflections, scholarship awards, performances, and dinner and dancing.

The theme for this year's banquet, which celebrated King and recognized members of the community who make a difference through King’s belief of advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, was "A Testament of Hope – #FORTHECULTURE.” It also is the theme of this year's MLK Jr. Commemoration Week activities, being held Monday-Friday, Jan. 16-20, and was chosen by the 2023 MLK Jr. Commemoration Student Committee.

The event was emceed by André Culbreath, FOBA president and associate director of diversity, equity, and inclusion for Student Affairs and Residential Living, and Stephanie Danette Preston, associate dean for Graduate Educational Equity in the Graduate School and immediate past president of FOBA, who also offered reflections during the evening.

In her opening remarks, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi shared her experiences on first learning about King as she was growing up in India; the effect he had on the country and its people, and its effect on himself; and reflected on King’s message of “resilient hope.”

“Hope, resilient hope, enduring all, requires us to be honest,” she said, adding that hope requires us to acknowledge the insidious impacts of racism in so many aspects of life today. “We must acknowledge that these injustices not only persist, but are still felt most keenly, by the Black community. And yet, if there is hope, there is hope in the work we undertake in higher education to transform lives for the better. Although institutions of higher education have far too long historically served as gatekeepers and bastions of racial privilege, I see hope in all generations — faculty, staff, students, alumni — working to transform these institutions, to welcome all students, to welcome all scholars, to welcome all seekers who wish to learn. Because when we learn, we grow; as we grow, we challenge, we shed old prejudices.”

During the event, Leslie Laing, director of adult learner programs and services in Penn State Student Affairs, received the 2023 Forum on Black Affairs Humanitarian Award. FOBA created the award in 1985 to annually honor an individual who has provided outstanding service to African American citizens of Pennsylvania, particularly in communities around Penn State’s campuses.

“Leslie has worked tirelessly to meet the needs of Penn State students who are typically returning to school to pursue an undergraduate degree, while they either work full time, raise families, or conclude their military service, among other things,” said award presenter Suzanne Adair, associate vice president for affirmative action. “It goes without saying that serving this population of students requires a passion for helping others, the creation and implementation of innovative strategies to facilitate their retention, and a willingness to go the extra mile. … But it certainly doesn't end there. That's just the beginning. Leslie’s not simply been involved with community organizing and advocacy, she's often led the way.”

Three students received the Fannie Lou Hamer and W.E.B. DuBois Service Scholarships, awarded annually to full-time, degree-seeking Penn State students who are excellent scholars and actively engaged in service to the African American community. The scholarship recipients are Penn State World Campus senior Tamara Aharon, majoring in psychology; Sean Hembrick, doctoral student in higher education in the College of Education; and Raya Petty, doctoral student in higher education, education policy studies in the College of Education, and president of the Black Graduate Student Association at Penn State. The awards honor the memory of civil rights leaders Hamer and DuBois.

Petty, along with Black Caucus President Ava Starks, offered reflections to the audience earlier in the evening’s program.

“Like Dr. King, I recognize the importance of community. I believe that our success, our persistence, and our belonging is strongly connected to one another,” said Petty. “Black students have historically and continued to play a major role in advocating for equity and education and in society as a whole. We create spaces that are affirming; we center Black students, Black people, Black joy in our work. We serve in our communities back home and locally to address the needs of those who are historically underserved.

“Whether it be organizing to speak up against racial injustice, or just checking in on one another and making sure we’re OK, I am proud of my peers for choosing our community and for choosing themselves,” added Petty. “Dr. King’s determination, his persistence, his resilience, his ability to motivate and to inspire, lives on.”

Starks, a bachelor of philosophy student studying culturally diverse event management, with minors in African American studies and Spanish, remarked on King’s legacy and its lasting meaning: “As he overlooked the vast crowd and stood on the Lincoln Memorial in 1963, Dr. King’s vision was to achieve absolute equality. And he wanted all of us, regardless of race, to see our inherent humanity — to let go of our differences and unite as one.

“I can confidently say that the Black students on this campus are Dr. King’s dream,” said Starks. “Among us are leaders, scholars, changemakers and trailblazers — these students are paving the way for the next generation of Penn Staters, serving their peers, and building their communities. They are mobilizing and using their positions and resources to leave a meaningful legacy. ’I have a dream’ is not just a phrase, rather it is a tool that guides the generations of today. We honor Dr. King’s memory and vision by continuing to reach our dreams.”

The audience also enjoyed several outstanding performances from Evan Buckner, a doctoral student in plant pathology and environmental microbiology, on viola; music performance senior Joshua Benitez on flute; music graduate student Jaden Adkins on tuba; and undergraduate Kapri Urie, majoring in early childhood and elementary education, who performed a solo interpretive dance.

Penn State alum Gabriel I. Green, assistant professor of African American literature at Xavier University of Louisiana, led the audience in singing the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” and also gave a spoken word performance. Graduate student and Penn State alum Timothy Benally, of the Navajo Nation, presented the Land Acknowledgment at the top of the evening, and the Rev. Paul McReynolds of Albright-Bethune United Methodist Church offered the blessing of the meal. American Sign Language interpreters Cassidy Donaldson, Rachel Mackrell and Tess Masood accompanied the speakers and performers for the evening’s event.

In her reflections, Preston encouraged the audience and community, especially “those of you who have not yet realized your purpose, to get engaged this year, as we distance ourselves from the onset of a pandemic that left us missing the joys of family and friends, that crippled our economy but helped us to realize how archaic but resilient we really are. I am hopeful that there is still time — time to move the needle, time to shift our thoughts, time to right the wrongs of the past, time to wake up and do what's right.

“We are at the height of a pivotal time and the choice is yours,” she urged. “Don't waste it.”

Get engaged: The Forum on Black Affairs

The Forum on Black Affairs seeks to form meaningful partnerships with individuals and other organizations, and encourages participation in a shared vision of an improved diverse and inclusive University community. FOBA’s mission is to provide educational opportunities for all citizens and is dedicated to the principle of equality for all people, manifested in a commitment to achieve equal opportunity for Black people at Penn State. Visit fobapsu.org to learn more.