Monday’s “The Prophetic Voice: A Time to Break the Silence” in Graham Chapel marked the 28th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration. The event featured various student and faculty speakers, who focused heavily on the recent events in Ferguson and African-American relationships within the St. Louis area as well as on campus.

Mary Richardson | Student Life

Students sing in Graham Chapel at this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day event on Monday. The event featured student speeches and performances as well as faculty speeches from Chancellor Mark Wrighton and Provost Holden Thorp, among others.

As senior and Student Union President Emma Tyler began the program, senior Reuben Riggs interrupted the ceremony and senior Eiftu Haile held up a sign that read “#ReclaimMLKDay.” Riggs called for the audience to observe 4 1/2 minutes of silence in honor of the 4 1/2 hours Michael Brown’s body lay on the street. During the moment of silence planned by activist group STL Students in Solidarity, several members of the crowd held up signs with quotes from King and messages about racial inequality.

Chancellor Mark Wrighton acknowledged in his opening remarks that there is still much that needs to be done to address the fallout from the events in Ferguson.

“Brighter days ahead will not come automatically from reflection and planning alone, as important as that is; action is required,” Wrighton said. “It is our responsibility to attempt to overcome them within our Washington University community and in the community around us.”

Mary Richardson | Student Life

A student speaker raisies his fist at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Graham Chapel. The event began with 4 1/2 minutes of silence to honor the memory of Michael Brown, who lay in the street for 4 1/2 hours after being shot in August.

Student speaker and freshman Julien Reiman spoke about his perception of racial inequality during his time on campus so far.

“Most of the things I have seen in this new environment have been incredibly encouraging,” Reiman said in his speech. “But in my first few months here I have also seen some things that are not so great, and you all have seen them, too. On every corner of [every] classroom and quad on campus, racial tension exists. Everywhere I look, people of all races fear that both their opinions or the color of their skin will incite anger—or worse, silence—from others around them.”

Reiman explained how he perceives racism across the nation as a whole.

“Here in our city stands a perfect example of how American racism is not simply an ideology but a societal system that degrades African-Americans while supporting white people,” Reiman said. “What is happening just down the road as well as around the country has one clear message: that racism is not dead. Instead, it is thriving everywhere.”

Faculty speaker Kimberly Norwood, a professor of law and African-American Studies, used current events to emphasize the differences in police and media treatment received by white and black people in America. She discussed the negative portrayal of the Ferguson protesters, in comparison to the treatment of white rioters at Keene, N.H.’s Pumpkinfest and on Ohio State University’s campus after the school won the inaugural College Football Playoff.

“When your friends ask you why protesters keep disturbing the peace, ask whose peace?” Norwood said. “But [if it weren’t] for the peace disturbance in Ferguson, would we even know Michael Brown’s name?”

Mary Richardson | Student Life

Provost Holden Thorp speaks at this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Graham Chapel on Monday. The event focused on recent events in Ferguson and examples of modern-day racism that students of color regularly face on campus.

Head of the Visual Media Research Lab Nadia Ghasedi, who helped plan the event, noted that this year’s events provided a unique lens for discussing King’s legacy and the issue of racism today.

“I think [the events in Ferguson] did help in selecting this year’s theme. It was something that was on everybody’s mind. The event is a commemoration of Dr. King and his message, so Ferguson is certainly related to that,” Ghasedi said.

Senior William Waldron, who has attended this ceremony for four years, wasn’t surprised by the interruption to the event’s beginning but was initially not sure how it would be received.

“I wasn’t necessarily startled by it,” Waldron said. “The host really appreciated it and really embraced it to set the correct tone for that event. If Dr. King was alive and something like Ferguson were happening, he would definitely not be silent on the issue and would definitely be speaking out about it, so I think it was very relevant to the legacy he left behind.”

In his comments, Thorp announced that the University had just approved a committee to prepare a one-credit class for freshmen about diversity. A timeline, however, was not given for the implementation of this program.

Editor’s note: This article has been amended to reflect that Ghasedi did not plan the event herself but rather helped do so as part of a committee.