Find Your Purpose: Mitchell celebrates MLK Legacy

Mitchell Community College held a celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this past Friday, Jan. 13, in Shearer Hall on the Statesville Campus. Staff and students from the College participated in the program that was sponsored by Mitchell’s Equity and Inclusion Council. 

Roy Davidson, Facilites Support Services staff at Mitchell, recited Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famous 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech to an attentive crowd. 

“I don’t pretend to be Dr. King up here today,” Davidson said. “But I will deliver this speech just as Dr. King did that day as a part of the March on Washington for jobs, freedom and equality.” His tribute speech was met with a standing ovation. 

The audience of faculty, staff, students and community members sang along with Wynston Lyles and Laila Willie, music students, who performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”  

“If you haven’t found something worth dying for, then you are not fit to live,” said the program's guest speaker, Dr. Tracy Moore, to the crowd as he paraphrased Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., encouraging those in attendance to find their life purpose.  

As Associate Vice President for Student Engagement at Central Piedmont Community College and an advocate for social justice education, Dr. Moore educates students year after year about the legacy of Dr. King, providing positive energy and intentional focus on the well-being of a dynamic community of learners. Growing up only six miles from The Lorraine Motel where Dr. King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968, Dr. Moore shared with the crowd that he grew up knowing and understanding the impact of MLK’s life and legacy. It influenced his purpose in life and led him on a mission to approach his life’s work with a spirit of love.  

As one of his favorite historical heroes, Dr. Moore found a connection in Dr. King’s life purpose. Dr. Moore then quoted Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final speech, which took place in Memphis on April 3, 1968: 

Let us rise up tonight with a greater readiness. Let us stand with a greater determination. And let us move on in these powerful days, these days of challenge, to make America what it ought to be. We have an opportunity to make America a better nation. 

“[Dr. King, Jr.] decided to stand for justice; he decided to stand for equality,” said Dr. Moore as he shared with the audience that a sense of purpose leads to a more fulfilling life.  

“People often wonder how you celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and I say as a day on and not a day off. So, I encourage you, I admonish you, do not take a day off [on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day]. Make it a day on.”