The 32nd annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March for Humanity will honor and remember King’s legacy on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. in the Old Main Chapel.

This year’s march will feature a lecture from state Sen. Vincent J. Hughes, who was elected as the Democratic chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee in 2010. He had advocated for policy changes such as expanding health care for low-income workers, raising the minimum wage, defending the right to vote, fighting for increased funding for public administration and rebuilding Pennsylvania’s distressed communities.

Tyrome Smith and Crystal White were on the executive board of the African-American Organization and noticed the injustices committed to students of color on campus in the 1980s, and that the campus was still open on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. These two students then created the march, according to Kapri Brown, assistant to the director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs.

“The march is a time for the campus to unite and to show that we are stronger and better together,” she said.

People coming together shows it is possible to stand for what is right, and that people have the power to influence where to go, according to Brown.

“Every major movement in history was orchestrated by college students, and it’s the students that will lead this world one day,” she said. “They need to know they have the power to impact the history of our country. Students are not just the leaders of tomorrow, they are the leaders of today.”

The pre-rally will start at 3:30 p.m. in Old Main Chapel, and the march will follow. Students are encouraged to pledge to march at sign-ups in the Ceddia Union Building. They can also make signs or bring their organization’s banners to the march.

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