University Celebrates the 58th Anniversary of King Visit

On September 22, 1965, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. addressed the Saint Peter’s campus at the annual Michaelmas Convocation and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws and Letters degree. On Thursday, September 21, 2023 the University celebrated the 58th anniversary of Dr. King’s visit.

In her dissent to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Affirmative Action in higher education, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson noted the “let-them-eat-cake obliviousness” of the act. Therefore, this year’s celebration theme was “Let them eat cake!” and focused on the consequences of the end of Affirmative Action. The celebration started at noon with a performance by the Aiden C. McMullen Chorale, a community reading of excerpts from Brown Jackson’s dissent, and free cake for all in attendance. At 1pm, the program continued guest speakers Karen Thompson, Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU of New Jersey and Saint Peter’s History Department alumna Gineen Abuali ’20, 3L Seton Hall Law and former ACLU legal intern, who presented “Affirmative Action: The Tyranny of a Soft Landing” and reflected on their own personal reactions to the court’s decision.

This anniversary celebration was sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, The Center for Undocumented Students, the Departments of Political Science and Sociology & Urban Studies, and the Africana Studies, Latino Studies, Social Justice, and Gender & Sexuality Studies Programs.