Sam Britt ’20 and Cara Smith ’21 co-wrote this story
A service was held Jan. 21 in the Chapel of St. Joseph to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. and discuss the racial divide in the U.S.
The event to honor King is held annually by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Office for Black Catholics.
The keynote address was given by Bishop Edward K. Braxton, Ph.D, who also holds a Doctorate of Sacred Theology and serves the diocese of Belleville, Illinois.
Braxton’s main message was that if King were alive today, he would be disappointed with the racial injustice that persists in this country.
“[King] would see such division and such polarizations that he would wonder if conversations were possible to bridge this division,” Braxton told the audience.
In his speech, Braxton discussed how King would respond to modern events, ranging from the assassination of President John F. Kennedy to police brutality.
“Dr. King might have reminded us that when he said the negro will not be satisfied until police brutality has ended, it was his way of saying Black Lives Matter,” Braxton said.
Over 200 people attending the service, including Sister Christa Rowe from Delaware, who was visiting St. Joe’s for the first time.
“I came because I heard the bishop was going to be down here talking about race,” Rowe said. “It is important today because we are celebrating Martin Luther King and it is a great opportunity to come together in peace and unity.”
Nick Pascale ’22, who attended the event, along with about a dozen other St. Joe’s students, said he wished more students had been there, especially at a time when St. Joe’s is having an ongoing conversation about racism.
“I was kind of disappointed that I didn’t see more of my peers here,” Pascale said. ”Especially at St. Joe’s right now, there’s an issue with inclusion and diversity. It’s up to us who actually came here today to get it out and pass on the torch.”
Braxton said in an interview with The Hawk that he had heard about the St Joe’s incident last November in which a racial slur was left on a student’s door. He said college students and administrators are responsible for perpetuating an environment of inclusion on their campuses.
“When incidents happen that are really harmful and hurtful, leadership and authorities should act quickly to make it clear that it’s unacceptable, especially at a school named for Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary and the protector of Jesus,” Braxton said.
Paul Aspan, Ph.D., associate professor of theology, said the university has failed to properly act in situations involving racism.
“These issues have always existed, yet we have never addressed them with the vigor and consistency that they require,” Aspan said. “By our failure over decades to address these incidents we haven’t done enough justice to make all members of our community feel safe.”
Braxton said it is important for colleges to facilitate discussions about race on their campuses.
“If we want to see the dream of Dr. King fulfilled, the more and more college students of whatever race and religion will hear a presentation like this,” Braxton said. “The better they will be prepared to make a unique and community-changing contribution.”
Khalil Thames ’21 said he hopes that in the future, there will be more awareness raised about events involving racism in order to increase student attendance.
“I think it is important to have more of these events on campus to educate and talk about it,” Thames said. “Overall, I think it is unfortunate that we didn’t have a better population of students here. Hopefully these get marketed in a way to get more students out.
