As Black History Month returns, students at Lincoln University – the nation’s first degree-granting historically Black university – reaffirm their commitment to honoring the legacy of Black excellence, writes Jen Samuel for The Daily Local News.
Last month, students braved cold weather and snow to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. on Jan. 20. The 24th annual MLK Day was organized by MLKCommUNITY of the Greater Kennett Area and held at Lincoln’s Wellness Center.
The keynote speaker was historian and tenured Harvard University professor Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, whose grandfather Rev. Walter Henderson Brooks, a former slave, earned degrees from Lincoln.
“Dr. King’s life and legacy means to always fight for what’s right and stand tall for what you believe in whether others agree or not,” said Jayla Turner, a junior at Lincoln University.
Turner is the Student Government Association executive president at the university.
“Choosing Lincoln was one of the best choices I’ve ever made,” she said. “Lincoln has molded some of the most important and prominent leaders in today’s world.”
Some of its famous graduates include Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila, the first woman Prime Minister of Namibia, and Nnamdi Azikiwe, the first president of Nigeria.
Read more about Black History Month and Lincoln University in The Daily Local News.
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