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By Kenya Godette

Dr. Bernice A. King, attorney, author and CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center) delivered a keynote address at the 40^th annual �һ�������Ƶ Dominion University Martin Luther King Jr. Observance held Wednesday at Chartway Arena.

Dressed in a jacket that read “Impact Over Fame,” King’s message to an audience of approximately 1,200 individuals from the campus and the community was clear: to uphold the vision that her late father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., established more than 50 years ago.

“His vision of a beloved community grounded in justice, equality and love remains just as urgent today as it was when he first shared it,” she said. “It’s our turn to continue the work.”

King warned that the path to invoke lasting social change was far from easy.

King cited the Civil Rights Act (1964) and the Voting Rights Act (1965) as triumphs of the movement and reminded the audience that nothing can defeat them if they remain committed to “the mission” for justice.

She spoke about Nonviolence365® (NV365), an initiative launched by The King Center, rooted in the fight for justice without compromising one’s humanity. NV365 is “Kinginan” nonviolence, named after the late Dr. King, and is defined as a love-centered way of thinking, speaking, acting and engaging that leads to personal, cultural and societal transformation.

King said one cannot protect freedom and justice by simply invoking her father’s name but that they must also embody his spirit, saying her father led with a spirit of love and acted from a place of love.

She recited one of his famous quotes: “Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic.”

“My question for you this evening is, ‘Are we standing for love-centered justice?’” she asked.

King shared a few teachings from her father to inspire a path forward for those in the audience and beyond.

She began with “the arc of the moral universe,” saying it is long but bends towards justice. “But that arc does not bend on its own. It bends when righteous people choose not to be silent in the face of injustice,” she said. According to King, the arc bends when people exercise their right to vote, when parents show up to school board meetings and begins with those who confront systems of oppression “with love in their hearts.”

 King referenced another message from her father in 1967, that we must “learn to live together as brothers and sisters or be forced to perish as fools.” She said learning to live together requires that we understand, recognize and respect each other’s differences.

She implored that the nation live up to the promises of the Constitution and be disruptors of injustice.

King concluded with a final and powerful challenge to carry on the legacy of her late father.

“So, I say to all of us. Let us stay woke. Let us stay engaged. Let us not falter. Let us not give up or give out. Yes, we may get bruised, we may get scars, we may suffer setbacks and suffer disappointment,” she said.

“But in the words of my Daddy, ‘We must accept finite disappointment, but never ever lose infinite hope’.”

The program concluded with a Q&A session with Dr. King and Emcee Cathy Lewis, community engagement liaison.

The program also included the presentation of �һ�������Ƶ’s Hugo Owens Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award to Hampton Roads Community Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Deborah DiCroce, Ph.D. The award recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that have made considerable contributions to civil rights, politics, housing and social programs through leadership, dedication and persistence.

Photos of the event are available