“I fear I am integrating my people into a burning house, ” Martin Luther King Jr. said. Olúfémi O Táíwò, philosophy professor at Georgetown University, broke down what construction politics are in the MLK Day convocation. King believed the current system couldn’t be fixed with small changes, and so a new system needs to be created. “We, as a people, must become firemen,” said King.
King believed capitalism comes with economic issues like wealth distribution, something Táíwò says is part of the capitalist system currently. Táíwò is also concerned about how the environment and food distribution play into the current system. Other speakers at the convocation included Deanna Reed, the mayor of Harrisonburg and director of alumni engagement and community connections at EMU.
“One of the leaders that has been inspiring me for a number of years is a woman by the name of Cloudette Colvin,” Reed says. Colvin, who came before the Montgomery bus protests, refused to give up her seat on a bus. Colvin died last week at 86, on January 13, 2026.
Participants fizzled in from both sides of the mainstage theater for the question and answer with Táíwò. While waiting, they discussed their hometowns.
Táíwò suggested in the Q&A that to change the minds of those in power, the system must become politically or economically costly for them. One method he suggested is striking. “If you withdraw your labor you can help shut down business as normal,” says Táíwò.
These future institutions should plan for having more resources than the current ones do. “Having a surplus of ways to meet people’s needs is going to be a thing that we’re going to want to keep in mind as we’re designing the institutions of the future,” says Táíwò.
Dibora Mekonnen, a political science and social work major and vice president of BSA, says about Táíwò, “I think there’s a lot of things we can do through the suggestion that he can give us or like we can think of to move forward.”
Along with the convocation and Q&A, the day also included several workshops where people could make DIY items, such as soap and fire cider. Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services, says that the day’s theme was about self-sustainability and communities: “If we’re not sustaining ourselves, it’s hard to do the work.” Thomas says her hopes for the day were that participants would slow down and practice self care, though EMU’s size makes it easy to notice when a student is in need of this. “It’s small enough that when somebody’s habits changed, somebody’s gonna notice,” says Thomas. Thomas also says she wants feedback from the students on the day’s events.
