“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.” ~ Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On Thursday, January 23, Century hosted its annual Martin Luther King celebration at Lincoln Mall on campus. The theme was Building on the Legacy of Beloved Community: It’s Our Turn. Masters of ceremony for this event included Sean Bedard Parker, the Dean of Fine & Performing Arts and Social Behavioral Sciences, and Frank Woode, the student president of the Black Multicultural Association. Woode is also a marketing major.
Despite the day’s below-zero temperatures, Woode set the mood of the Building Beloved Community subject matter with a tone that was a splendid combination of reverence, warmth, and optimism as he began his opening remarks. Woode professed: “To me, Martin Luther King Day is more than just a day. It is a day to revisit and celebrate a man who wanted justice and equality for all people, teaching everyone to love one another and respect one another, regardless of the color of their skin.
“Each day, I do my best to make [the Black men in my life] proud and speak on what is right when speaking out about racism and injustice and do it in a way that will reach people,” Woode continued. “I believe Dr. King would want the same… It is important to stand up for equality for all.”

Century President Angelia Millender’s opening remarks reflected on the life of Dr. King. Not unlike the revered civil rights leader, her speech was grounded in empathy, love, and hope for the future. Millender’s commitment to the dignity and equality of Century students was clear and unwavering as she spoke. She reminded the audience, “The fight for civil rights and the realization of a truly inclusive society are not things of the past, but ongoing commitments we must all share. Millender’s speech was followed by a vocal performance of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by Century nursing student and performer Shondea Thomas. Breona Gresham, a Century marketing and business major, continued with a reading of “Standing Tall,” a poem written by Jamie McKenzie in honor of Dr Martin Luther King.

Tyneeta Canonge, the keynote speaker and CEO of We Consulting, spoke about bringing Martin Luther King’s dream of The Beloved Community to life. Canonge told the audience of three principles that must be in place to attain the Beloved Community. The first of those principles is the principle of “Ubuntu” which means I am because we are. Ubuntu refers to humanity’s interconnectivity. Everything we do individually and collectively has an effect on others, whether it’s intentional or not. I need you, and you need me. A solitary human being is a contradiction in terms. We have to learn from other humans to be human. Someone else teaches us to walk and talk. A solitary person cannot be all they can be without other people teaching them. We learn from other people how to love or not to love.
The next vital principle in The Beloved Community that Canonge talks about is an emergent strategy, which is a term coined by Adrienne Maree Brown in her work on social justice movements and community building. A community using the emergent strategy does not abide by a rigid plan. Instead, the community learns together by trial and error. The community continues to refine its processes by working together and recognizing that the community is always evolving. Leaders will emerge naturally in the process of community building. Conflict is expected in the beloved community, but it will be resolved by communicating and using peaceful means. Canonge tells the audience, “The community will develop over time. We will be intentional, we will take our time, and we don’t need to be perfect. The one thing we must do is act.”
The third and final principle in King’s vision of the Beloved Community, according to Canonge, is “amplifying and centering the voices of the people in the global majority.”
Equality in the Beloved Community means no tolerance for poverty, hunger, or homelessness. Prejudice and discrimination are eliminated. The beloved community is a place where there is transformation and a change of souls that results in a change in our lives. This change starts from within and requires that each of us be willing to lean into that change. There has to be evidence of that change in the form of action on the outside. The necessary tools that each of us possess are our hearts, our heads, and our hands to act on what needs to be done in the Beloved Community.

Canonge talked about internal work that each of us needs to do to prepare ourselves to be part of the Beloved Community. She encouraged the audience to produce 3 to 5 core values that resonate with them. From those core values, Canonge instructed them to create a vision statement. In addition, Canonge asked participants to think about if there is something that we might need to unlearn, such as a point of view about a certain religion. Perhaps it’s time to learn about something we know little about that will be important in the beloved community.
Canonge instructs the audience, “How you do this is the way you show up. Are your core values aligned with your past socialization?” She cautions the audience about microaggression and how it belittles people. “We have good intentions, but we say the wrong thing.” Take it one step at a time. Small steps lead to vision. Canonge also suggests that we have an accountability partner to talk about your path into the beloved community. The beloved community is up to us, one step at a time. Without community, there is no creation.
Community activism is and was an important part of life for Canonge and her extended family. Her cousin Kim Groves was part of the community watch in her neighborhood. She witnessed a teen being brutally beaten by police officer Len Davis, who Davis mistakenly thought the teen was part of an officer-involved shooting. Groves reported the beating to the local precinct. Less than a day after filing that report, Groves was assassinated by a drug dealer on October 14, 1994, at the behest of Officer Davis because he was engaged in illegal activity in the neighborhood.
Groves left behind three children. For his role in her death, Davis received the death penalty. However, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison on December 23, 2024. Canonge carries on striving for The Beloved Community.

Near the end of her presentation, Canonge read the quote by Zora Neale Thurston: “I have been in Sorrow’s kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peaky mountain wrapped in rainbows, with a harp and a sword in my hands.”
Shondea Thomas then sang “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo.
Sean Bedard Parker provided closing remarks. He spoke of his experience completing the 34-mile Birkebeiner ski race between Cable and Hayward, Wisconsin, while unknowingly ill with COVID-19. He thought he had walking pneumonia, which presents mild symptoms, so he decided to complete the race despite not feeling well. Bedard Parker didn’t realize how low his lung capacity was as he struggled to finish the race.
He recalled fellow racers who encouraged him to keep going and even slowed to stay with him to ensure he would finish. He told the audience that this journey of one became a journey of many. Strangers became a community for Bedard-Parker to finish the race. Despite exhaustion and poor lung capacity, he did just that.
The comparison of Bedard-Parker’s completion of the Birkebeiner to the uncertainty of our political climate is clear. Century College is itself a beloved community. We must preserve it. We may not always agree with one another, but we do agree on Century’s vision and mission. Bedard-Parker reminded the audience, “The journey is ours; we must lift each other up. Yes, we are tired, but I don’t want to lose faith. No one is that tired if you are committed to the authenticity of the truth.”