2021 MLK Celebration Week at WOU
The Time Is Always Right To Do Right
14TH ANNUAL DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CELEBRATION WEEK
Sponsored by the Office of the President
January 18 – 22, 2021
MLK Video Contest Winners!
1st Place: Aiyanna Suazo
Special message by Roxane Gay
2nd Place: JesseJ
Special message from Dr. Gary Dukes & Wolfie
3rd Place: Jose Alaniz-Benitez
Special message from Gabby Douglas
MLK Celebration Week Events
Jan. 18, 2021 - Service Fundraiser for Emergency Student Aid - $2021 in 2021!
$2021 in 2021 to help students in need!
Although COVID may have derailed our annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Service Project, the time is STILL right to do what’s right! This year’s unprecedented chaos has resulted in a dramatic increase in applications for help through WOU’s Emergency Student Aid fund. Emergency aid is needed for students facing food insecurity, surprise housing costs, medical expenses, and unexpected transportation needs.
We are aware that asking for donations in a year where many face financial challenges is difficult. However, we also know that when our students are in need, we rally together to help where we can! So, for those that are able, this year’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee would like to ask you to help us meet our goal of raising $2021 for 2021! These funds will go directly to WOU’s Emergency Student Aid fund. Thank you in advance for your support and care!
Where: Click this online LINK to donate* now!
*Please Choose “Emergency Student Aid” as the designation for your donation.
When: Between now and January 31st!
Help us reach our goal!
Jan. 19, 2021 - Faculty & Staff Panel
Join us to hear from our panelists as they share their thoughts about the current social climate for Black/African Americans and why the time is always right to do right.
Panelists: Dr. Vivian Aseye Djokote, Professor/Division Chair, Criminal Justice Sciences; Darryl Thomas, Theater/Dance Instructor; Tie Burcham, Deaf Studies & Professional Studies Instructor; and Rian Gayle, Assistant Director of Access and Inclusion, Office of Disability Services
Host: Kathy Espino Perez, Psychological Sciences Department Assistant Professor
Moderator: Tatiana Whitlow, Black Student Union Representative
Event Link: Zoom https://wou-edu.zoom.us/j/84872044960
(Event will be presented in a Zoom Webinar format, with question & answer features available. Video and audio functions will be muted for all attendees.)
Time: 12pm to 1pm
Captioning and ASL interpreters will be provided
Jan. 20, 2021 - MLK Keynote Address
Live Virtual Event – 6:30pm to 7:30pm
Keynote: Tai Harden-Moore, JD, MBA
JD, Florida A&M University College of Law
MBA, Concordia University – Portland, OR
Host: Rip Horsey, Director, Campus Recreation
Moderator: Gabbi Boyle, Academic Success Advisor, Student Success & Advising
Event Link: www.wou.edu/livestream
Captioning and ASL interpreters will be provided
Keynote Biography:
Tai Harden-Moore, Founder and CEO of Moore Consultants, LLC, is a dedicated diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion advocate. As Founder of Moore Consultants Tai is dedicated to helping organizational leaders deepen their knowledge and develop the strategies necessary to create diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments for all.
While earning her Juris Doctor degree from Florida A&M University College of Law, Tai served as the Lieutenant Governor for Non-Traditional Students for the American Bar Association Law Student Division, which afforded her the opportunity to work with and be an advocate for underserved student populations, particularly, students of color, women, LGBTQ students, and part-time law students in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.
Since graduating from law school, Tai has demonstrated her commitment to diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion, social and economic justice and, racial equity, by being involved in and giving back to the community in various ways. Whether it be through her work as an equity trainer and facilitator, her service to local non-profit boards, her research concerning legal issues surrounding gentrification and displacement in North and Northeast Portland, her work as a Conversation Leader for Oregon Humanities, or using her voice to bring attention to social justice issues through articles published by Diverse Issues in Higher Education, Medium, Huffington Post, The Skanner News, Black Commentator, and African American Times; Tai has chosen to use her voice to effect change in our community.
This biography is shared from Ta Harden-Moore’s website. For more information visit http://www.moore-consultants.com/.
Jan. 20, 2021 - Student Q&A w/Keynote
All WOU students are invited and welcome to join our MLK Jr. Celebration Keynote speaker, Tai Harden-Moore, for a special Q&A Session, from 7:30pm to 8:30pm.
Host: Black Student Union
Moderator: Ariel Zimmer Suel, Educational Advisor, SEP
Event Link: Zoom https://wou-edu.zoom.us/j/87989988636
(Event will be presented in a Zoom Webinar format, with question & answer features available. Video and audio functions will be muted for all attendees.)
Captioning and ASL interpreters will be provided
Jan. 21, 2021 - WOU Student-Athlete Panel
Join us to hear from our student-athlete panelists as they share their thoughts about the current social climate for Black/African Americans and why the time is always right to do right.
Panelist: Isaiah Abraham, Lauren Berry, Olivia Denton, Logan Jackson, Machiach Lee, and DeShaun Stevens
Host: Matt Friesen, Assistant Director of Experiential Learning, SLCD
Moderator: Maya Hopwood, Black Student Union Representative
Event Link: Zoom https://wou-edu.zoom.us/j/85789749165
(Event will be presented in a Zoom Webinar format, with question & answer features available. Video and audio functions will be muted for all attendees.)
Time: 12pm to 1pm
Captioning and ASL interpreters will be provided
Jan. 22, 2021 - MLK Video Contest Winners
Top three winners will be announced by special guests.
Winners will be prized Wolf Store certificates.
1st Place – $200.00
2nd Place – $125.00
3rd Place – $75.00
Make sure to visit the MLK website on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021 to watch our winners videos and the special guest announcements.

MLK Video Contest
This year’s celebration week and video contest is inspired by Dr. Kings “We have come a long, long way but we still have a long, long way to go” speech at Southern Methodist University (SMU) on March 17, 1966.
Dr. King spoke on the future of integration and the progress of race relations in this speech, calling on everyone that “…the time is always right to do right.” Students are encouraged to read the full speech or listen to the full speech prior to creating their video.
Video Entry Closed
Entry window has closed. Winners will be annouced Friday, January 22, 2021.
Video Content Requirements
Entrants should address the following quote in their video: Why is now “the time is always right to do right?”
Entrants should include the following in their video:
- The quote;
- Their personal connection to the quote; and
- Their interpretation of the quote.
Below is an excerpt of the quote and speech for reference:
“Now if we are to solve the problem it is necessary to develop a massive action program to get at it on a continuing basis North and South. Not only to develop the kind of action program that will really solve the problem. We must get rid of one or two myths that are constantly disseminated.
One is what I refer to as the myth of time. I’m sure you have heard this. It is a strange notion there is some miraculous quality in the very flow of time that tends to heal all ills. You’ve heard it from those who said to the Negro and his allies in the white community just be nice and patient and in 100 or 200 years the problem will work itself out. They contend that only time can solve the problem. It is my contention that there is an answer to that myth and that is that time is neutral. It can be used either constructively or destructively. And I am absolutely convinced that the forces of ill will in our nation, the extreme right in our nation have often used time much more effectively than the forces of goodwill. We may have to repent in this generation not merely for vitriolic words and the violent actions of the bad people who will bombed a church in Birmingham, Alabama, but for the appalling silence and indifference of the good people who sit around and say wait on time.
Somewhere we must come to see that human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes through the time and persistent work of dedicated individuals who are willing to be co-workers with God. Without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the primitive forces of social stagnation and irrational emotionalism. We must help time and we must realize the time is always right to do right.
Now there is another myth that is constantly disseminated. It is the notion that legislation cannot solve the problems of racial injustice. Those who argue on the basis of this myth contend that you’ve got to change the heart. Well, as I said earlier this afternoon to many of my fellow clergymen here in Dallas, I’m with anybody who believes in changing the heart. I have nothing against changing the heart. I happen to be a preacher and I am in the heart-changing business. And I preach Sunday after Sunday, week after week, about regeneration, conversion and the new birth. I believe in getting hearts changed.
And I believe also that it is true that if we are to solve the problem ultimately, the white person must see the Negro as his brother. And he must treat him right because it is natural and because the Negro is his brother and not merely because the law says it. If we are to solve the problem ultimately, every person must rise to the majestic heights of being obedient to the unenforceable. I recognize this.”
Southern Methodist University. (2014). Transcript of Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech at SMU on March 17, 1966. 2014 Archives. https://www.smu.edu/News/2014/mlk-at-smu-transcript-17march1966
Model Release
By submitting the entry form, the entrant warrants that they own all rights to the video they are submitting. The entrant releases all rights in perpetuity to WOU for the use of the video in its complete or partial form, and to the information the entrant provided to WOU throughout involvement in the contest.
The entrant confirms they are at least 18 years of age and have the right and ability to consent to this agreement. The entrant agrees to release WOU, its agents and assigns, from any and all liability and from any and all personal property rights from which the entrant might have in relation to WOU, its agents or assigns for the use of the entrant’s voice, image, likeness, and any additional information provided to WOU throughout involvement of the contest.
By submitting the entry form and a video, the entrant grants the university a perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license for the use of the video in its complete or partial form, and to the information the entrant provided to WOU throughout involvement in the contest.
All entrants must complete and upload a signed model release form by 11:59pm PST on Thursday, January 14, 2021. No video will be judged without a completed model release form received by the MLK Committee by that deadline.
Eligibility
Any student who is enrolled at Western Oregon University during the 2020-21 academic year.
Entrants must be at least 18 years of age.
Only one entry per student.
Video Format & Guidelines Specifications
The video must be between :30 and :60 seconds long. Videos less than :30 seconds or longer than :60 seconds will be disqualified.
Video must be in .mov or .mp4 file format.
Video may not exceed 1GB file size.
Video must meet the model release guidelines.
Images, graphics, and music used should be approved creative commons license and/or royalty-free license content. Additional information:
- Check out millions of creative commons images and music you can use.
- You can also find creative commons images via Google Image search by selecting the tools box > usage rights. More information available on the find images you can use & share website.
- Learn more about legal creative commons and royalty free music to use in videos.
Video may not be created on social media platforms (e.g., TikTok, Instagram Reels, etc.) and then submitted as an entry per creative commons license and royalty-free regulations.
Voting Criteria
All eligible videos will be reviewed and scored by a 1st round reviewing body of faculty and staff. The top finalist will be reviewed by a 2nd committee, who will select the top three winners. Videos will be scored based on the quality of:
- Content (e.g., entrant included the quote and address their interpretation of the quote)
- Innovation (e.g., creativity, originality)
- Aesthetics (e.g., visuals, sound elements, graphics,)
- Personal Connection (e.g., entrant self reflected, shared how the quote resonate with them)
- Overall video quality
Prizes
Gift certificates to the Western Oregon University Wolf Store.
1st Place – $200.00
2nd Place – $125.00
3rd Place – $75.00
If you require an accommodation to participate in a WOU activity, please notify the Office of Disability Services at least 72 hours in advance: 503-838-8250 or ods@wou.edu. To request interpreting, TypeWell transcribing, or captioning services, click here.
Questions regarding MLK Jr. Celebration Week at WOU:
Contact Anna Hernandez-Hunter at hernana@wou.edu or Rip Horsey at horseyh@wou.edu
2021 MLK Celebration Week Planning Committee
Kathy Espino Perez, Psychological Sciences Department
Matt Friesen, Service Learning & Career Development
Anna Hernandez Hunter, Multicultural Student Services & Programs
Maya Hopwood, Black Student Union
Rip Horsey, Campus Recreation
Emmanuel Macías, Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs
Tati Whitlow, Black Student Union