A Message Regarding MLK Events

Dear Members of the Campus Community,

On Monday, January 20, we begin a new semester and we celebrate the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose legacy of works and words continues to shape our vision of equality, inclusion and justice. We believe this is a moment to consider how we all might play a role in building a more equitable and inclusive Lehigh. 

In 1963, Dr. King and his fellow civil rights activists were arrested and jailed in Birmingham, Alabama, after disobeying a ban on protests. During this incarceration, King wrote one of his best-known works, Letter From a Birmingham Jail, in response to members of the clergy who had condemned his actions. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he reminded them. “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

At Lehigh, we have declared this the year of shared responsibility. Shared responsibility means that all of us – students, faculty, staff and administration – have ownership of this university. This is your school. This is our school. While there is much to love about Lehigh, we do not pretend to be perfect, and our work towards creating a better Lehigh is never done.

The words of Dr. King speak directly to this recognition of our connectedness and duty to act on behalf of our community. The good news is that each of us has the ability to impact this university, our home of Bethlehem and the wider world in positive ways, regardless of the size of our action.

Lehigh’s MLK Committee has organized a number of events to offer our community opportunities to engage thoughtfully with Dr. King’s words and legacy this semester, including a luncheon on Monday, Jan. 20, at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church at 474 Vine St., which will focus on the theme of “Peace and Nonviolence in a Divisive World." All are welcome, and anyone wishing to attend can RSVP here.

This year’s MLK address will be delivered in late March by Spelman College President Emerita Beverly Daniel Tatum, a clinical psychologist widely known as an expert in race relations and a thought leader in higher education. Prior to her visit, Lehigh will host several reading circles on her seminal book, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” There will also be social justice panels focused on immigration and environmental justice over the course of the next semester. More information on those events can be found here. Other pathways for community-building and growth can be found on our diversity and inclusion website.

We encourage each of you to explore, to reach out and to embrace your individual capacity as an agent of change – both here at Lehigh and beyond. As King himself often reminded us: “The time is always right to do what is right.” 

Sincerely,

John D. Simon, President
Patrick V. Farrell, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
Donald A. Outing, Vice President for Equity and Community