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Touré Kicks Off Martin Luther King Jr. Week At GVSU

GVSU Communications
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GVSU Communications

Despite temperatures in the teens and blowing snow, hundreds gathered outside Zumberge Hall for a silent march commemorating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

“The least we could to was come together, march in unity for that great cause that gave us some of the opportunities that we have today.”

That’s Bobby Springer, the Associate Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at GVSU.

The march ended at the GVSU Fieldhouse. People filed in to hear writer, journalist, and former MSNBC host Touré give an impassioned speech about racism against black people in today’s America and the need for solidarity among intersecting movements.

“As linked movements we will be able to truly change America for the better. When we fight as a united group on behalf of all oppressed people we can gain the moral power to be unstoppable and in that we can stand on the shoulders of King to help make the entire world a better place.”

The next keynote is Patrisse Cullors, founder of Black Lives Mater movement. She will speak at the Kierkhoff Center at 4:30 on Wednesday.

Credit GVSU Communications / GVSU Communications
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GVSU Communications
Touré gives Keynote at GVSU Fieldhouse to commemorate MLK

Mariano Avila is WGVU's inclusion reporter. He has made a career of bringing voices from the margins to those who need to hear them. Over the course of his career, Mariano has written for major papers in English and Spanish, published in magazines, worked in broadcast, and produced short films, commercials, and nonprofit campaigns. He also briefly served at a foreign consulate, organized for international human rights efforts and has done considerable work connecting marginalized people to religious, educational, and nonprofit institutions through the power of story.
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