In honor of Black History Month and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Beach Pride hosted an essay contest on the theme of “Peace in Diversity: Creating a Culture of Change.” This year’s winner, John Broadway, is a senior journalism major who admires Dr. King.
“I’ve always had a lot of respect for Dr. King. I already had an interest in writing and I felt it was an interesting topic,” said Broadway. “I wanted more of a chance to write something insightful to share with others, and this gave me that opportunity, as well as giving me the chance to pay respects to someone I admire a lot and to spread a positive message of acceptance and diversity.”
Asked to write on the theme, Broadway’s essay discussed the irony of peace in diversity, claiming that the primary cause of conflict rested in diversity of ideology, culture, religion, etc. Nonetheless, he also proposed that as diversity is natural to the earth, it should be respected as such. Broadway also noted how Dr. King’s vision and advocacy gave him ideals to apply to his own life.
“If you could take the backlash Dr. King took, like going to jail several times, and still be useful as the face of a huge, much-needed movement for a good cause that would later benefit the lives of millions of people—you deserve respect and reverence,” said Broadway.
Broadway admires Dr. King’s leadership, intelligence and perseverance. His hope is for his essay to inspire honesty in people about their own prejudices and for people to follow Dr. King’s example in finding peace in diversity.
Broadway’s essay was read aloud in the USU at the MLK Celebration on Feb. 23 and can be read on page 12 of this week’s Union Weekly, located online here.
