Honoring the dream: Office of Diversity and Inclusion partners with Frank W. Hale, Jr. Black Cultural Center to celebrate MLK Thursday at Ohio Union

Jasmine Williams
Fri, 24 Jan 2025 21:13:29 +0000
Campus, Instagram Page, News, Online Exclusive, 53rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, ai, artificial intelligence, chuck d, Courtney Gandy, Dean Ayanna Howard, dr. king, Frank W. Hale, Jr. Black Cultural Center, Lawrence K. Williamson, martin luther king jr., mlk, MLK Celebration, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, ohio state, ohio state university, ohio union, osu, scholarships, student scholarships, students, The Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the ohio state university

Ayanna Howard (left) and Chuck D (right) shake hands during the 53rd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. Credit: Jasmine Williams | Lantern Reporter

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion and Frank W. Hale, Jr. Black Cultural Center jointly held the 53rd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in the Ohio Union’s U.S. Bank Conference Theater Thursday.

The celebration featured Chuck D — frontman of the famous hip-hop group Public Enemy — as the main speaker, as well as an award ceremony for scholarship recipients who displayed academic prowess and community leadership skills.?

Ayanna Howard, dean of the College of Engineering, interviewed D? — formally known as Carlton Douglas Ridenhour — onstage at the event as attendees listened. Some of D’s most notable accomplishments include meriting a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and receiving a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, according to the event’s webpage.

Throughout the interview, D kept the audience engaged with anecdotes about his rap career and new developments in artificial intelligence. He said people should not fear AI but rather use it as a tool.

“We have to ask ourselves if our phone is a toy or a tool,” D said.?

D encouraged the audience to use AI to its advantage, instead of being afraid that it will replace real people and their jobs. Conversely, he also explained how AI gets rid of the “soul” in creativity and art.

Courtney Gandy, program coordinator at the Hale Center, said the topic of AI is related to King’s legacy because it is a “unifying [topic] at the core of celebration.”?

“We talk a lot about fighting for justice for people in our society and addressing the important topics that were important when Dr. Martin Luther King was alive and doing his work that we’re still doing today,” Gandy said.?

After the interview, two scholarships were awarded to nine scholars who had demonstrated the same principles and values as King: the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Scholarship and the Lawrence K. Williamson Jr. Scholarship.

The six students who received the Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship demonstrated an exceptional academic record, as well as involvement in leadership and service, according to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s website. This year’s awardees were Maguette Niang, Ortez Littlejohn, Devante Barnes, Peter Conser, Abigayle Smith and Jasmine Herrell-Ransom.

The Lawrence K. Williamson Jr. scholarship was awarded to scholars who demonstrated passion for the arts and community service, according to the Center’s X post. This year’s awardees were Ariana Stubblefield, Mar’Kia Williams and Kierra Willis.

“Dr. King’s legacy just encourages me that I can do whatever I put my mind to, and that I’m more than where I come from, and whatever you want, you just go after it,” said Williams, a second-year in criminology, Spanish and ASL.

Summer Luckey, the interim director of the Hale Center, said though some students may feel defeated amidst the current political climate, holding on to King’s values can give them some hope.

“I think equality and justice [are] the backbone of humanity, and no matter what is going wrong around you, as long as you are solid within yourself, everything will be okay,” Luckey said.