17 February 2025

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Dental school community honors MLK’s legacy with 44th annual King’s Feast

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The courage and commitment of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the power of community bonds, and the importance of staying true to core values were among the themes set out at the School of Dentistry’s annual King’s Feast on Feb. 1.

Speakers at the 44th annual dinner and program emphasized the need for continued action – and hope – at a time when ending racism and advocating for social justice remains as important as ever.

About 120 students, faculty, staff, alumni and prospective dental students participated in the dinner and program to honor the legacy of the civil rights leader. The event is organized by the school’s chapter of the Student National Dental Association (SNDA). The national organization and its university chapters around the country promote and support the academic and social environment of historically underrepresented students in dental schools while advocating for diversity in the dentistry profession.

Like the University of Michigan’s campus-wide MLK Symposium last month, the event borrowed an MLK expression for its headline: “Restless Dissatisfaction: An Urgent Call for the Pursuit of Justice and Equality.”

In opening the program, Dr. Todd Ester, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, cited the more than four decades that the School of Dentistry has held the King’s Feast, the many accomplishments of the U-M SNDA chapter over the years, and the contributions of time, mentoring and financial support from alumni of the SNDA and the dental school.

“We have celebrated each other across our differences for a very, very long time,” Ester said. “I just wish, I just hope, I just pray that the world can see what this room feels like tonight – the spirit you all brought here. I am so reminded of Dr. King’s words that out of a mountain of despair, there is a stone of hope. I am so reminded that love still conquers all. … Our greatest challenge is also our greatest opportunity – to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

“Tonight we celebrate our excellence and show our campus, our community, our world, the power there is in community. We are here to stay and we are going to be OK,” he said.

Dean Jacques Nör said that King’s Feast is a significant part of the school’s modern history, which is important to emphasize this year as the school celebrates the 150th anniversary of its founding in 1875. From the start, the school was a leader in breaking gender and racial boundaries before society even acknowledged them. In 1880, only five years after its founding and 40 years before women in this country could vote, the Michigan dental school graduated a woman, Dr. Alma Fuellgraff, in an era when women were rarely admitted to higher education and professional schools. In 1890, the school achieved the distinction of graduating the first African American female dentist in the country, Dr. Ida Gray.

Many significant milestones, initiatives and accomplishments have led the dental school to becoming one of the best in the world, Nör said. “Key among our successes is a commitment that started a century and a half ago by our founders – a commitment and a deep understanding that dentistry must embrace diversity,” he said. “This commitment has always been one of our core values.”

Nör said the school seeks to further strengthen a sense of belonging for students, faculty and staff. “Together, we want to make sure that everyone in our community experiences a deep sense of community and belonging,” he said. “There is no question in my mind that a community that welcomes everyone makes us all so much better.”

In his keynote address, D’Ondre Swails, an Assistant Professor in the College of Arts and Humanities at Clemson University in South Carolina, provided historical insight into many elements of the life and accomplishments of MLK. Swails is an interdisciplinary scholar specializing in 20th century African American cultural and intellectual history.

Swails once worked as a tour guide for the National Park Service at MLK’s birth home in Atlanta, Georgia, where he would explain to visitors that King’s parents and grandparents lived comfortable lives. MLK had the opportunity to do that as well, but was drawn into the Civil Rights movement at the age of 26, which Swails noted is only slightly older than most of the dental students attending Kings Feast.

“Imagine being 26,” Swails told the audience. “You just got your PhD. Just got a good job pastoring a prominent church in the South. Life was good. Somebody walks up to you and says: How would you like to live the next 13 years of your life being one of the most hated and vilified people in the country? Then, as a result of it, you will die a violent death. (Would you) step away from this life of comfort and convenience?”

Swails said MLK knew that pursuing justice requires bravery. “You don’t know whether you would pursue justice or not until you’ve actually been in a position where pursuing justice may or may not actually be in your best interest. Think about it:  Martin Luther King Jr. spent 13 years traveling this country getting arrested. Would you trade a warm meal at home with your family for a bologna sandwich at the Fulton County Jail?  And would you continue to do it for years?”

Quoting the Preamble to the Constitution, Swails noted that justice is one of the first purposes mentioned: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity …”  “That’s what this country is supposed to be about,” he said. “The problem is, we tend to associate justice with law. We think that whatever is legal is what is just. And what is just is legal.  And that’s not how it works. Justice is a moral question.”

MLK’s message and methodology – including his “love ethic” – must continue to be embraced not by the few but by the many, Swails said. “It’s never enough for one person to be the example. It is on all of us to pursue that bravery in getting towards justice. Be the one that allows the one to become the two to become the ten to become the ten thousand.”

“Let us all take today to remind ourselves of the example of Dr. King, in that he chose bravery despite the fact that he easily could have had a life of comfort and convenience.”

The evening’s program included several musical and spoken word presentations. Outgoing SNDA chapter president Brhan Eskinder, a third-year dental student who is president-elect of the national SNDA, reviewed the organization’s accomplishments in the last year, which included 42 events or activities that were highlighted in a video. Kings Feast marked the beginning of the one-year term of the chapter’s new president, second-year student Delasi Denoo.

Third-year student Ainslie Woodward introduced a new SNDA initiative – an alumni mentorship program called Bridging Generations. It  will link current students with SNDA alumni in both one-to-one and group activities. The program will connect dental students with alumni who have successfully transitioned into their careers as dental professionals. The goal is to foster a supportive community that bridges the gap between dental school and professional practice, providing students with invaluable mentorship, practical advice and career guidance. The program prospectus notes: “Together, we are building a legacy of community, excellence and mutual support within the dental profession.”

Source: https://news.dent.umich.edu/