Overview:
Greenfield Community College celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a range of activities, including a keynote address by Angela Campbell, GCC Vice President of Institutional Mission, Culture and Climate. The event also featured a freedom dance class, a workshop on community resilience, and a screening of the PBS show "Eyes on the Prize." The celebration was a reflection of the current political climate and a reminder of the importance of diversity and community.
GREENFIELD — Greenfield Community College observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a celebration of diversity and community while reflecting on the current political climate for the 27th annual celebration.
The college’s 27th annual event welcomed guests to a variety of activities, including a freedom dance class, a Martin Luther King Jr. story hour, an episode screening of the PBS show “Eyes on the Prize,” which focused on the civil rights movement. Attendees also took part in a workshop led by Rev. Dr. Diane J. Johnson on how communities can respond and remain resilient in challenging times.
The main event of the day featured a keynote address by Angela Campbell, GCC vice president of Institutional Mission, Culture and Climate, whose presentation titled “MLK Day: An Invitation to Light the Way” reflected on King’s 1968 sermon “Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution.”
“Remaining awake requires an understanding of the times we’re in against the backdrop of where we’ve been, and that’s why each year, when we talk about Dr. King and the work that he did, we have to remember that we’ve come a long way, and still have a long way to go,” Campbell said during her speech.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader of the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S., practicing a form of nonviolent protest and writing the iconic “I Have a Dream” speech read during the August 1963 march on Washington, D.C. He was assassinated in April 1968. The first bill to create a federal holiday in his honor was introduced by former Michigan Congressman John Conyers, Jr., just after King’s assassination, but wasn’t signed into law until 1983 by former president Ronald Regan.
‘We are all human’
Inside the South Art Gallery, Senegalese musician and dancer Abdou Sarr returned to GCC to lead a workshop called “Freedom Dance from Senegal,” teaching a group of people from all ages African dance.
While the crowd grew slowly throughout the morning, by the end of the workshop, around 30 people were up on their feet dancing, clapping or singing as Sarr led the group through dances and songs.
One of the dances included a movement of “breaking the chain” and moving forward in freedom, and singing the Senegalese song “Fatou Yo.” At one point, Sarr told the group, “These people are ready to go to Africa,” after they quickly learned and repeating a song.
Sarr said that each year, he’s invited back to GCC for the event, and this marked his fourth visit. While wearing a T-shirt depicting King, Sarr said that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is not just about the American civil rights leader, but also about the other civil rights heroes as well.
For Sarr, he said he was happy to see the crowd he led during the workshop, and noted his favorite part of the day is the diversity of the people celebrating MLK Jr. Day.
“What makes me happy is I’m gonna see Christian, Muslim and Jewish [people] and we are all celebrating,” he said. “We’re all human, and what God bring[s] us in life and make[s] us human. He didn’t make us [a] rabbit or [a] cat. He knows we are so smart, and all we have to do is get along.”
Marcel Jennings said he’s thankful to be able to celebrate MLK Jr. Day with other people who are also happy to remember his legacy.
“To be able to be out in the community and celebrating MLK Day, it’s a blessing with everything that’s going on in the [Trump] administration and everything,” Jennings said. “It’s actually refreshing to be out with other people that want to celebrate and remember the person who was MLK and everything he’s done for us.”
Tea Martin feels similarly, saying that the program at GCC means a lot when everything Martin Luther King Jr. represented is in jeopardy in the current political climate.
“Being able to keep our communities active in these kinds of programs and different events is super important,” she said.
Jennings said for him, MLK Jr. Day was a household celebration for him growing up, and that each time he thinks of King and Malcolm X, another prominent civil rights leader and contemporary of King, he is reminded of how strong and resilient Black people are. He added that the two laid a strong foundation for justice and equality, and people today have to continue to build on the work done by leaders like them.
Dr. King’s legacy today
Just after the morning workshops concluded, Campbell was introduced by GCC President Michelle Schutt. In her brief remarks, Shutt reflected on the work that King did to promote democracy, noting that 2026 is a midterm election year. She quoted from the “I Have a Dream” speech with King’s remark that, “Now is the time to make a real promise to democracy.”
“While we have opportunities every single day to protect our democracy, what Dr. King said in 1963 could not ring more true in 2026,” Shutt said.
Shutt urged attendees to vote responsibly, research candidates and issues and to vote for the candidates that align with one’s values, and “supports policies that strengthen our very fragile democracy, promote civic education, advocate and support initiatives that enhance civic education.”
Dr. Campbell then addressed the audience of around 80 people. In her remarks, Campbell tied in personal anecdotes of forgiveness and spirituality to the sermon by King.
Later in her address, Campbell said she wanted to highlight important points from the sermon, including how King’s spirituality is linked to his leadership in civil rights, how being present and active in civics is part of being awake and that people are interconnected.
By the end of her remarks, Campbell was given a standing ovation, with the Twice as Smart choir performing near the end of the program.