by Staff

Civil rights attorney Fred D. Gray joined  students, staff and community members in the march to city hall during the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration.  The march ended with a program on the City Hall steps.

Berea College President Dr. Larry D. Shinn with attorney Fred D. Gray

The Berea community came together January 15 to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a full schedule of events. The day opened with "Martin Luther King, Jr.: Reflections," with student readings of speeches, poetry and prose, including Dr. King’s works and others that address his ideals.

During the afternoon, faculty members exhibited projects on the Early History of Black Berea (Dr. Jackie Burnside) and Charles W. Chesnutt, a turn of the century black author (Dr. Stephanie Browner.)

Civil rights attorney Fred D. Gray was the featured speaker at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Convocation. The leading civil rights lawyer in America, Gray's legal career began in 1954 when he represented Rosa Parks, who was arrested because she refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, igniting the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 

He was also Martin Luther King Jr.'s first civil rights attorney. Fred Gray is the author of Bus Ride to Justice (1995) and The Tuskegee Syphilis Study (1998)The day ended with the annual Beloved Community Dinner. Events were sponsored by the College's Black Cultural Center, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planning Committee, the Campus Christian Center, Convocations, Center for Effective Communication and department of English and Theatre.