Brown encourages audience to recall King's legacy when creating change

LaTosha Brown delivered an impassioned presentation March 26 about how the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has influenced her and imprinted her work with voter rights.

It was appropriate that most members of the audience that filled the Louis Armstrong Theatre in the Haas Center for Performing Arts were high school and college students as Brown called on them to take ownership of the country's future and "envision what the United States would look like if all people were valued and respected."

A recognized expert in Black voting rights and voter suppression, Brown is the co-founder of Black Voters Matter, Black Voters Matter Fund and the Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute. Her presentations in West Michigan during Grand Valley's King Commemoration Week in January were postponed due to severe weather. 

"Imagine a country where everyone felt valued and respected. Dr. King embodied that for me; he believed in the power of humanity," Brown said. "What gives me hope today is the young people, because Dr. King was a young man who left a legacy of love."

Robert Shorty, vice president for People, Equity, and Culture, facilitated a conversation with Brown. Shorty said the rescheduled date remains a crucial time when considering the King Commemoration Week theme of "Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365."

"When uncertainty looms, legacy shines the brightest," Shorty said. "This is not a fleeting moment but an endeavor."

Brown encouraged the audience to use their voices and actions for change. "Are you thinking like a citizen or a founder of a new nation?" she asked.

"If we can create a world where we can get the best out of people, how will that go?" she asked. "How we go forward will be determined by your actions. We need you to lend your voices and your visions."

LaTosha Brown MLK keynote presentation