Guest Column: Moving forward with love

On the night of January 21, I attended an event where I heard the testimony of a local Holocaust survivor named Judith Evans. As she was describing her life experience, she took a moment to encourage the audience to “say something before it is too late” and “to move forward with love.”

Upon leaving the event, I had her words, along with the famous quotes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., resonating within me.

For many months, I knew I wanted to speak up about the issues that took place within our country: racially motivated crimes, hateful words being directed towards people of different political standings and sexual orientation, and the separation of ourselves from those that don’t look, speak, or dress like us.

These issues got under my skin but I just never knew how to address it or do something about it, however, that night on the 21st I knew I had to say something, do something before there came a time when I couldn’t.

There were so many encouraging factors that were behind this initiative: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, Evans as well as the stance of Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick had the courage to take action to what he believed in. He knew the eyes that were on him because of his career and used that attention to highlight a problem within our country, so that was an action I wanted to take as well.

I realized the attention I had from the school and community and I use it for an issue that was bigger than myself. I got tired of having conversations about the issues that surround our community and I wanted to do something about it, so I decided to start here at my beloved campus of the University of South Carolina Aiken.

The message I want to send out to my fellow brothers and sisters is one that is so simple, love one another. I realize that is message is a cliché and overstated, but it is one that should not be taken lightly or easily forgotten.

I am one who makes the effort to reach out to those who I know don’t look like me or believe the way I do. I try to break the status quo and spread love to all. That was the message of the Peaceful Demonstration and the message I will continue to live by forever.