UCF marches in remembrance of MLK

Bundled up on a cold winter afternoon, students, faculty and staff marched from the Student Union to the Reflecting Pond and stood huddled in a circle to honor one of their heroes.

More than 100 people gathered Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the life of civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and listen to a speech given by Bobby Seale, co-founder of the Black Panther Party For Self Defense.

Seale gave the keynote speech about his role in the civil rights movement of the 1960s and '70s.

Jonathan Parker, a sophomore human resource management major, said he came out to hear about Seale's experiences.

"Being able to get those first-hand accounts about the things that he experienced and  see how far we've come and how grateful we should be for those that paved the way for us to be as free as we are today," Parker said.

Seale spoke about the formation of the Black Panther Party and how he witnessed King speak during the 1960s.

Seale said he first saw Martin Luther King when he came to speak in Oakland, Calif.

"I was still working on the Gemini Missile Program," Seale said, "doing eight or nine credit hours ... I didn't go hear preachers anymore at the church. I got tired of preachers all my life raising me up, telling me about fire and brimstone, [but] I liked this brother. He was talking about doing something."

The event, sponsored by the Student Government Association, Campus Activities Board and the Multicultural Student Center, began at the Student Union carrying a sign covered with personal notes signifying the importance of the civil rights movement to each individual.

After a gospel group opened the ceremony with James Weldon Johnson's "Lift Every Voice and Sing," poet Ruth Tuffit began the main part of the ceremony with a reading of the original text of King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

Kersti Myles, Student Government Association diversity initiatives specialist, said that she was happy with the number of students that came to the event.

Myles said she considered the event to be a success and that many people turned out.

"Everybody was in the seats, and we had people standing up," Myles said, "but I think that people were engaged  and they were listening to the ‘I Have a Dream Speech' and then also to what Bobby Seale had to say as well."

The ceremony was the first of several events in the monthlong MLK Celebration hosted by SGA, CAB and the MSC.

Parker plans on being part of the events on campus sponsored by SGA during January and February.

"I'm a 4th generation member of the NAACP, so this month and next month are usually big months for me and my family," he said.