By Mark Piper
Last night, SXU alumnus and President of Northern Trust Bank Darryl Jackson gave an emblematic lecture titled, “What happens to a dream deferred?” in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
Mr. Jackson was welcomed by Student Activities Board Diversity Chair Danyah Zayed. SXU graduate student and hall minister Matt Stevenson gave an opening prayer and SXU alumna Grace Hobson ’09 sang the Black National Anthem.
Mr. Jackson shared his insights and opinions on MLK, his favorite quotes about achieving your own dreams and his assertion that Dr. King’s dream is not deferred but slowly being realized.
“I would not be here today. I would not be running a Fortune 500 Company if it was not for Martin Luther King,” he added.
Danyah Zayed, a junior biology major, agreed with Jackson’s principal point that the dream has not been deferred. Zayed was glad that the university held this event because it’s “easy to lose sight of the message of the admired MLK. He was a world civil rights leader, his message is to any person.” She continued, “this event is good because it highlights the [diversity] of the University. I was asked to give the intro from Erika McCall (Asst. Dir. Of Campus Life).”
After the lecture, the student-run AFC Choir sang “Ride on King Jesus,” and Assistant Director of Campus Life Erika McCall gave the closing remarks. Following the program’s conclusion, students were able to engage Mr. Jackson about his life experience and time at SXU.
With an audience of well over 50 people, most of whom were students, it seemed to be a successful event to highlight Saint Xavier’s core value of diversity as well as honor Dr. King’s legacy. It also seems in light of Mr. Jackson’s sentiment that the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy summed it up pretty well; “The cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dreams shall never die.”
Mark Piper is a senior political science major with a minor in pastoral ministry. He is from Stoughton, WI and is president of the Student Government Association. Consideration for the student bloggers is provided by Saint Xavier University.
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