The Whittier College community came together on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Students, staff, and faculty started the morning with speeches on the steps of the Science & Learning Center. Standing before a large crowd, speakers shared words of hope, activism, and unity.
Recalling a quote engraved on a wall of King’s memorial in Washington D.C., President Linda Oubré related that the ultimate measure of a person is where they stand in times of challenge and controversy. She urged the community to remember those words and King’s legacy.
“We must take up the mantle and continue to make our voices heard,” Oubré said. “We must continue to fight for the rights of everyone. We must continue to do what we think is right.”
People must do more than dream and hope—they need to act and stand by others, said Assistant Professor Social Work Laurel Brown. “And Whittier is where we’re equipped to do that.”
Ariel Horton ’21, representing the Transgender, Other-Identified, Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Allies for Diversity (TOBGLAD) student club, communicated the growing support in their community.
“For the past couple years, our club has been working closely with local organizations and alumni to bring celebrations of pride to this campus and to this city,” Horton said. “This year, the City of Whittier saw its first pride parade, and we are working hard with the Whittier LGBTQ community to build a center that will serve not only this campus and this city but the entire L.A. County.”
Following the speeches, people honored the national holiday’s spirit of service by volunteering. With the guidance of the facilities department, students planted native trees next to Wardman Library to continue transforming the College’s grounds into a more water-conscious landscape.
The day concluded with a celebratory evening of gospel music. The Azusa Pacific University School of Music Gospel Choir filled the Memorial Chapel with song.
