Student campus groups voiced their disagreement and protested Kennesaw State hosting Roderick McLean, vice president of Lockheed Martin Marietta, for the Martin Luther King Jr. Week Legacy Luncheon on Thursday, Jan. 16.
Students for Justice in Palestine at KSU president and junior international affairs and geography major Marisol Mendez said that inviting McLean to speak at the luncheon tarnishes King’s legacy of non-violence.
“Inviting someone who represents the military-industrial complex to a celebration that honored MLK’s legacy was disrespectful,” Mendez said. “MLK was anti-war and anti-imperialist and this action shows that KSU does not truly respect MLK, the marginalized groups on our campus or our voices.”
KSUnited released an official statement about the luncheon on its Facebook page Tuesday evening, signed by them, the Young Democratic Socialists of America at KSU and SJP, among other community activist groups.
The statement detailed the student campus groups’ disagreement with McLean’s invitation to the luncheon, concerns of social justice work being suppressed and proposed changes for future Martin Luther King Jr. weeks.
“[McLean] standing as a keynote speaker at an MLK Legacy luncheon also represents KSU’s direct support of war, which opposes Dr. King’s message of non-violence,” the statement said.
The statement continues, stating that there is an increase in the suppression of social justice work and student organizations representing marginalized communities by KSU.
“KSU has continued to suppress areas of diversity and social justice work, while perpetuating and protecting a hostile environment towards marginalized people on campus,” the statement said.
The statement ends with a series of demands for future MLK Jr. weeks, including returning full control of MLK Jr. Week to students from marginalized communities. Additionally, the groups would like the luncheon to be public instead of closed to the general public and for the school to implement an anti-racist education center on at KSU.
KSUnited and YDSA hosted tables on the Campus Green on the day of the luncheon, where pamphlets were handed out educating passersby on KSUnited’s demands, facts about Lockheed Martin and Martin Luther King’s philosophy of peace.
SJP at KSU also assisted KSUnited and YDSA at the event by providing flyers. Officials from the Metro Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America and the Cobb County Southern Christian Leadership Conference spoke at the event.
Additionally, KSUnited held a die-in demonstration outside the Convocation Center, where the luncheon was located.
Students had signs taped to their chests that read, “3 percent of US military spending could end world hunger” and “Lockheed Martin supplied weapons for the conflicts in Yemen and Syria.”
Senior political science major and president of KSUnited Alexa Vaca said that the demonstration was focused on political education and not counter-protesting.
“We did it before the luncheon and as people were walking in so that they could see a depiction of victims of war and the cost of war,” Vaca said. “Lockheed Martin is the largest military contractor in the world.”
Vaca also said KSU President Dr. Pamela Whitten changed the Dr. King Legacy Luncheon from a public weekend event to a weekday closed event. Another concern Vaca voiced was the African American Student Alliance on campus no longer having control over MLK Week.
Mendez also had comments regarding the institution of an anti-racist education center.
“The KSU administration has had a pattern of embarrassing themselves, and this luncheon was a prime example of that,” Mendez said. “If we had the anti-racist education center, this would not have happened.”
Senior integrative studies major and president of YDSA Christopher-robin Millican stated similar concerns about MLK week.
“This is the most recent punctuation on a long line of degradation of MLK legacy week at KSU,” Millican said.
Millican also stated that these degradations could be indicative of greater efforts by KSU administration to not promote progressive action.
