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People can make their mark in the world the same way that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King did with his legacy of helping achieve civil rights long after his death.
Or they can be like President John F. Kennedy who worked to make America’s space program the strongest in the world before his death.
That was the message keynote speaker Dr. Josette McCullough, a Delaware State University alumna, gave at Delaware State University’s celebration of the 27th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday Monday.
McCullough is director of special education for the Appoquinimink School District in Middletown.
“If you were to die today, what would be your legacy?” she asked. “What do I want to see happen before I die?”
King, for one, is considered a prophet who led the United States of America out of the dark ages of segregation, said McCullough, who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from DSU and her doctorate from University of Delaware. She is also a Caesar Rodney High grad.
“A legacy you leave behind is like a gift you leave behind without expecting anything in return,” she said. “What is your legacy? God remembers all that we do.”
McCullough went on to encourage the audience of about 400 to be help their children realize their full potential and to cast aside the ridiculous phenomenon whereby children are ridiculed for studying and getting good grades. She also urged children to pick their role models carefully.
Also among the speakers was Geneva Peanort Fennell, poetess and retired educator. She read her tribute to King, a poem titled “A Tribute To The Dream.”
“Separate they may have been but equal they certainly were not,” she said. “On the United States of America this inequity left a dark and ugly spot. So, the dreamer got together with the people all across the land.
“And, together, hand-in-hand, … they did what they could to change the law of the land. And, thus, the dreamer’s dream has come a mighty, a mighty long way. From us living in the poor house, to President Obama leading this country and living in the White House.”
There were also dance and musical performances by local schoolchildren and speeches by state and federal politicians. The Fairview Elementary School choir sang “We Are The World” and a few other songs, young ladies from Worship Christian Center in Camden danced after McCullough’s speech and Caesar Rodney High School student Symphony Silver performed a contemporary dance to Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song.”
People can make their mark in the world the same way that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King did with his legacy of helping achieve civil rights long after his death.
Or they can be like President John F. Kennedy who worked to make America’s space program the strongest in the world before his death.
That was the message keynote speaker Dr. Josette McCullough, a Delaware State University alumna, gave at Delaware State University’s celebration of the 27th anniversary of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday Monday.
McCullough is director of special education for the Appoquinimink School District in Middletown.
“If you were to die today, what would be your legacy?” she asked. “What do I want to see happen before I die?”
King, for one, is considered a prophet who led the United States of America out of the dark ages of segregation, said McCullough, who earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from DSU and her doctorate from University of Delaware. She is also a Caesar Rodney High grad.
“A legacy you leave behind is like a gift you leave behind without expecting anything in return,” she said. “What is your legacy? God remembers all that we do.”
McCullough went on to encourage the audience of about 400 to be help their children realize their full potential and to cast aside the ridiculous phenomenon whereby children are ridiculed for studying and getting good grades. She also urged children to pick their role models carefully.
Also among the speakers was Geneva Peanort Fennell, poetess and retired educator. She read her tribute to King, a poem titled “A Tribute To The Dream.”
“Separate they may have been but equal they certainly were not,” she said. “On the United States of America this inequity left a dark and ugly spot. So, the dreamer got together with the people all across the land.
“And, together, hand-in-hand, … they did what they could to change the law of the land. And, thus, the dreamer’s dream has come a mighty, a mighty long way. From us living in the poor house, to President Obama leading this country and living in the White House.”
There were also dance and musical performances by local schoolchildren and speeches by state and federal politicians. The Fairview Elementary School choir sang “We Are The World” and a few other songs, young ladies from Worship Christian Center in Camden danced after McCullough’s speech and Caesar Rodney High School student Symphony Silver performed a contemporary dance to Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song.”
In addition, Gov. Jack Markell, U.S. Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and U.S. Rep. John Carney (D-Del.) each gave guest speeches in which they relayed what the Martin Luther King holiday meant to them personally. Carper, for one, relayed how former DSU President Dr. William B. Delauder first approached during his time as governor.
“He said, ‘We have a dream of what Delaware State College could be. We’d like to be a university … that people all over the state and the country admire,’” Carper said. ”’We’d like to be a university that’s beautiful, a university where the dropout rate is going down and the retention rate is going up.
A year later, he signed the legislation passed by the General Assembly to make the college Delaware State University, he said to applause.
Markell, similar to McCullough, urged people to take action, using the example of King’s humility in serving others.
“The real question is not how do we feel about this event,’” he said. “The real question is what do we do when this event’s over.”
DSU President Dr. Harry L. Williams thanked celebration leader Reuben Salters for his work to bring this event to fruition.
