In a turn of events prompted by the frigid temperatures, Alabama State University still celebrated its Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation by featuring Jeffery Johnson during the L.E.A.D Speaker Series.  Even though the venue shifted from the Ralph D. Abernathy Hall Auditorium to the virtual realm of Zoom and Facebook Live on Jan. 16, 2024, at 11 a.m., a large audience responded by tuning in to Johnson’s presentation.

The presentation, undeterred by the chill, not only resonated with a wide audience of students, alumni and staff, but soared beyond the expectations of the faculty, proving that even in the face of unforeseen circumstances, the spirit of King’s legacy can reach new heights.

Johnson started by expressing his thoughts and frustrations on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, with people putting his inspirations in a said “box” of one or two speeches. He highlighted the tendency for people to confine King’s inspiration within the limits of one or two well-known speeches.

Johnson urged the audience to dig deeper into King’s vast body of work and recognize the multifaceted nature of his contributions.

“King was not a popular man at his death, and in death, we have used him to sell things. We have used him to create an imagery of passive non-violence, that in many cases was about Black and white people coming together versus his evolved revolutionary, and in many cases, unpopular call, clarion call to us to fight an American political reality that didn’t need to exist,” he emphasized.

Throughout Johnson’s presentation, “How Students are Leveraging Their Own Power in This Moment to Define Leadership in Themselves,” he highlighted the transformative role students can play in shaping their communities and defining their leadership roles. Emphasizing the significance of collective action and individual empowerment, Johnson urged students to recognize the immense potential within themselves to drive positive change.

“The real beauty of self love is – as many of us who are on that journey recognize regardless of if you are in the beginning of it or if you are decades into it – that one, it’s a never ending journey of discovery and exploration of ourselves, of our heart but also of our traumas,” he said.  “All of us have them just by nature of being Black in America. We have generational trauma that often we understand intellectually but don’t understand spiritually. That we understand historically, but we don’t understand from a cellular level.”

During the question and answer session that followed Johnson’s presentation, he addressed key questions from the online audience.

One participant asked “how to reach the masses of our younger generations to understand the seriousness of what we’re faced with?” Johnson responded, “…Every young leader needs to know the difference between elders and old people. Old people are old. They’ve been here a long time, and most of the time, they’re in the way. They are afraid of young people versus believing they are given an opportunity to help develop young people, and they believe their leadership exists for the sake of themselves versus that they would put their hands on a younger generation. That the generation wouldn’t be destined to create the mistakes of the previous.”

Johnson then added, “Being an elder is not about your title, it’s about the wisdom you’re willing to share, and I say that because elders understand that young people are fired up. They just aren’t fired up by what you’re fired up about, and if we fail as elders to create relationships with young people, then we don’t have the ability to share our wisdom with them.”

As the event concluded, senior finance major Tre’von Conner, who is the executive treasurer for the Student Government Association, gave his thoughts on the presentation overall.

“I thought the presentation was very powerful, from the letter reading beforehand to actually hearing Mr. Johnson speak on some of the initiatives that he’s working on and giving advice to us.” He also added that, “I attended because – for one – out of respect for the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and then two just to hear from Jeff Johnson because I do follow him on social media, and a lot of the takes he has are very progressive, and they are also very engaging for people of, I think, any level. Whether you’re familiar with the civil rights struggle going on right now in the world or if you want to learn more about it.”

Other university members who participated in the program included senior theatre major Carson Shearer, who gave an immersive rendition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from the Birmingham Jail;” junior rehabilitation services major Landon Hale, who serves as president of the Student Government Association; Maurice Robinson, Ph.D., who provided the connection between the university and Dr. King; an emotional performance of “We Shall Overcome” by the University Choir, directed by Kristofer Sancheck, Ph.D.; senior biology pre-health major Kayla Edwards, who serves as 2023-24 Miss Alabama State; and Malinda Wilson Swoope, Ph.D., vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.

Swoope, who concluded the program, thanked Johnson for his encouraging words.

“I just wanted to take the time to say thank you. Thank you for these powerful words, thank you for the nuggets that you provided, thank you for the wisdom and knowledge that you shared, but most importantly, thank you for pivoting with us and being willing to accommodate us due to this inclement weather that we are experiencing here in Alabama,” Swoope said. “It has been a wonderful message to listen to, and it is my hope and my prayer that the students are able to take away from this message and use the wisdom that has been shared in their daily walk in their lives.”