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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is today considered a hero for his work and achievements in fighting for civil rights, and the nation honors his life and legacy on Monday, January 19, 2015.  Perceptions of Dr. King while he was alive were at times vastly different than they are today (Gallup, 1966). Perceptions change, and the upcoming holiday presents an opportunity to reflect upon the complexity of the past, present and future of Civil Rights in the United States and how it relates to Chapman.

In the coming days, the Chapman Cross-Cultural Initiative and the Black Student Union will offer opportunities for students, staff, faculty and community to take time to reflect on the holiday, history, fight for equality and legacy of Dr. King.


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Martin Luther King Dream Labyrinth

On Tuesday, January 20, 2015 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the Wallace All Faiths Chapel, the Chapman Cross-Cultural Initiative invites students, staff, faculty and the community to carve out 10-15 minutes of the day to meditatively walk through the Martin Luther King Jr. Dream Labyrinth.


mlk“The Dream Labyrinth was designed and initiated by Chapman students last year and it is just one way to take a few moments to reflect on the impact of Dr. King’s legacy, life, advocacy and activism in service of a greater vision of racial and economic justice in the U.S. Students from Cross-Cultural Engagement and the staff of the Fish Interfaith Center are working together to offer the labyrinth this year as a part of the Cross-Cultural Initiative.”

– Erin Pullin, Assistant Director of Cross-Cultural Engagement

Chapman Cross-Cultural Initiative

The Chapman Cross-Cultural Initiative is a new effort that began in June of 2014 highlighting the many different identities and cultures that comprise Chapman as well as striving to exemplify an atmosphere of awareness and support. This initiative was created as a way to further the education and empowerment of the Chapman community around diversity and inclusion of all its members, especially those from underrepresented groups.


“It is our goal to have all students feel included and valued on our campus by intentionally exposing the students of Chapman University to different perspectives through experiences, events, discussions, and passive programming. The Cross-Cultural Initiative is comprised of students, staff and administrators from various departments and groups on campus. We attempt not only to educate on different identities and cultures, but we also provide space, resources and/or guidance for our students who are experiencing or have experienced incidents that may feel oppressive and/or exclusionary of their identity(ies).”

–Leticia Wyatt, Chair of the Cross-Cultural Initiative and Assistant Director of Office of Housing and Residence Life

MLK Awards Ceremony

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy of work and service during Black History Month in February, the Black Student Union will be hosting its first MLK Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, February 10 at 7 p.m. Members of BSU look forward to honoring students, staff, faculty, and members of the community who embody Dr. King’s leadership and service.


“The Black Student Union (BSU) at Chapman University is an organization that seeks to promote diversity on campus as well as provide a nurturing and inviting environment for Chapman’s Black students. The Black Student Union also aims to empower the Black community at Chapman by giving fundamental support, resources, and information and also providing a connection to the other communities on campus. This organization has grown and thrived over the past five decades.”

–Jayla Asare, President of Black Student Union

Dr. King and Chapman University

In 1968, legislation was first introduced to Congress to honor the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a federal holiday. It would take fifteen years before the third Monday of January was officially recognized as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. After a movement led by Coretta Scott King, with over six million signatures of support, President Reagan signed the bill into law in 1983. Today, the U.S. celebrates the birthday of Dr. King to honor his work, life and impact through a national day of service, during which hundreds of thousands of people come out to serve their communities.

Dr. King visited Chapman University on December 10, 1961, and delivered a speech in Memorial Hall. There, he urged those in attendance to remember the importance of continuing the fight for Civil Rights.




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Dr. King with Mark Messer ’62 – Messer shared a couch with Dr. King as he helped lead an informal post-speech Q&A session in the student union.

“The extreme optimist says ‘do nothing’ because integration is inevitable. The extreme pessimist says ‘do nothing’ because integration is impossible. But there is a third position that can be taken, namely, the realistic position. The realist in the area of race relations seeks to combine the truths of two opposites while avoiding the extremes of both. And so he would agree with the optimist that we have come a long, long way. But he would seek to balance this by agreeing with the pessimist that we have a long, long way to go.”

Video courtesy of the OC Register


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