For the first year in WSU history, the Martin Luther King Week Committee was consolidated with the National Day of Racial Healing, a day the university started recognizing in 2022.
The week of Jan. 20 was filled with a multitude of community-building activities as well as critical discussions between students and faculty, all hoping to preserve and celebrate a culture of inclusion.
The main goal of the week was to promote conversation and “bridge building,” Trymaine Gaither, MLK Committee chair and Special Assistant to the Provost for Inclusive Excellence said.
“Each of us has a brick to lay in building that bridge,” Gaither said. “It may look different for each person, but it’s a responsibility we all share as Cougs.”
Julia Carboni, committee member and William D. Ruckelshaus Center director, said coming together as a community in polarizing times is paramount. Co-creating solutions are not about always agreeing with one another, but having “civil conversations.”
Carboni said WSU is in a unique position; being a university with six campuses scattered throughout Washington. Considering that many graduates stay in the area, it has become a place that is adept at bringing statewide community.
“It can really be thought of as a leader in this field of bringing people together,” Carboni said.
Regarding students in particular, Ashley Boyd, committee member and associate professor of English education, said the week serves as a jumping point for student activism and involvement. In her own classroom, Boyd has a project aimed towards pursuing social justice and it has blown her away to see what students come up with.
“It has really just shown me the potential of allowing students to take social action,” Boyd said. “Hopefully they’ll carry that forward.”
Darryl Singleton, committee member and assistant professor of Black music in America said it is necessary to understand where each person is coming from and bring awareness to those who may be unaware of certain facts.
“A lot of the hate and arguments come from not being able to conceive of a perspective outside of our own,” Singleton said. “So when we have things like the National Day of Racial Healing and MLK Week, we have an opportunity to.”
Carboni said she had a similar idea to Singleton; a person’s perspective is shaped by what they hear, what groups they are a part of and who they are talking to, she said. It is these aspects which make up someone’s biases and affect their actions.
Not one person is necessarily “evil” for having certain biases or ideologies, Carboni said. That is an essential step to recognize when starting conversations with others about important topics like race and inclusion.
During another project Carboni did through the Ruckelshaus Center, her panel brought together 50 participants from various districts in Washington for the commitment of public service. When the multi-partisan group realized they were all working towards the same goal, they put ideological differences aside and collaborated to co-create solutions. It was powerful.
This is what the MLK Committee strives to do — cultivate communal solutions that benefit everyone and begin to heal the divides which are rifted in current culture. Gaither hopes with the community built by MLK Week and other social justice programs, WSU will become a more unified student body.
“It will foster a more inclusive campus culture where everyone from the students to faculty and staff feel a sense of true belonging,” Gaither said. “Building a sustainable, inclusive future is a collective effort.”
Boyd said emphasizing the steps the community is taking for change is also key in moving forward with more activism and collectivism. When people are aware of movements and the actions of others, they are more likely to act; this comes through in practical, actionable change, said Boyd.
“There’s momentum behind still acting for social change and still supporting and, now more than ever, I think we need that,” she said.
MLK week has come to a close, but the committee hopes the effects will last more than a few days out of the year. For true change to happen, consistent, lifelong efforts must be made.