Staff Report
EMU news: www.emu.edu
When asked a number of times in the past to speak about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Luke A. Hartman declined.
But he accepted an invitation to speak in a chapel service Friday, Jan. 15, at Eastern Mennonite University to open several days of activities to recognize and pay tribute to the life and work of the late civil rights worker and minister.
Hartman, a 1991 EMU graduate who is an administrator at Skyland Middle School in Harrisonburg, told his audience of his hesitancy to speak around Martin Luther King Day because “there’s something innately wrong if we single out one day a year for black orators to give speeches about human rights and equality.”
But, he agreed to reflect on Dr. King’s legacy at the university “because if what EMU stands for” and “its ongoing efforts to work at racial understanding and peace and justice on campus and in the larger world.”
Hartman, who is also an adjunct faculty member in EMU’s MA in education program, based his remarks on Jesus’ statement in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me . . .”
Hartman said he was “just a child” when his father told him about Martin Luther King Jr. His father met Martin Luther King Sr. at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and “was impressed with his humility and godliness.
“The work and legacy of Dr. King can be seen on two levels,” Hartman noted. “On a broader scale, he was involved with organizing diverse, mass groups for acts of passive resistance. He worked hard to change housing laws, to promote more equitable distribution of economic resources and to end the Vietnam War.
“Because of his outspokenness, King was jailed, persecuted and experienced explicit racism. But through it all, he gave family and church top priority,” Hartman stated. “King worked at inclusion, at seeing Jesus in every person – the privileged as well as the disenfranchised,” he added.
“The life and work of King only has meaning if we desire to know and to treat people for who they are and if we are willing to take risks and confront prejudice in daily life,” the speaker declared. “We must act with compassion, work at reconciliation, forgive and embrace differences, living out the ethic of Jesus.”
A podcast of Hartman’s chapel presentation can be accessed at http://emu.edu/blog/podcast/2010/01/15/the-legacy-of-martin-luther-king-jr-luke-hartman/.
A worship service that included a video presentation and small group discussion on King’s life and achievements was held Sunday afternoon, Jan. 17, in the Common Grounds Coffeehouse.
“A good number of students sat around tables at the close of the program and discussed ‘what next’ in keeping King’s message of peace, unity and human dignity alive,” said Marvin Lorenzana, director of multicultural services at EMU, which sponsored the various events. “That to me was one of the most significant things to happen over these days.”
Another video tribute to King’s life and legacy was shown repeatedly on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 18, in the Campus Center Greeting Hall. Historical photos and posters were on display along with a “response wall” for persons to write personal comments.
Chris Johnson, a third-year student in the master of divinity program at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, incorporated reflections on King’s life in an address, “Being Kingdom-Correct in a Politically Driven World,” Monday night, Jan. 18, to open the annual School for Leadership Training, a four-day conference for church leaders and pastors.
“We are not only here to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. We are here to celebrate the One who was within Dr. King. Johnson said. “King operated based on love for God first, above a political system. When we love God we can understand how to love others. MLK fought for justice because he loved God.”
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