MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s True Blue Pledge, its history behind it and the power it holds was the predominant message of this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, held Wednesday, Jan. 22, on campus.

MTSU students, faculty and staff filled the Student Union Atrium for the MTSU Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs program that wove the wisdom of the slain civil rights leader and his late wife, Coretta Scott King, in with the principles of the pledge: honesty, integrity, diversity and respect.

“The power of the True Blue Pledge is not just simply in the writing of it or the words contained in it. It’s about the application,” said the Rev. Vincent Windrow, co-author of the True Blue Pledge, MTSU alumnus and retired administrator who served as keynote speaker at the event. “For me, it’s a sign that the culture of MTSU has been captured.

“This is who we are in terms of our values, this is what we do and this is how we do it.”

The story behind the True Blue Pledge is one paved with sadness and violence. In 2011, Blue Raider women’s basketball player Tina Stewart was killed by her roommate during an argument in their off-campus apartment.

In the wake of Stewart’s death, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee formed a task force to focus on conflict resolution and nonviolence. As the campus team talked about how to address matters, Windrow began to write what would become the first draft of the pledge.

“We were trying to make sure that the community standards and standards of excellence at MTSU were part of everything,” said Windrow, who also wanted to ensure the pledge was filled with affirmations, beginning with, “I am True Blue.”

“The ‘I am’ statements in the True Blue Pledge were placed there because we need to know for ourselves who we are,” Windrow said, “because if you don’t have an ‘I am,’ you’ll become what people say you are.”

The pledge is “about drawing the circle wide enough” to include everyone, he said.

Windrow also referenced the poem, “The Bridge Builder,” by the late Murfreesboro poet W.A. Dromgoole. The poem tells the story of a wise traveler who builds a bridge for someone he will never see to “make their load lighter.”

“I believe that’s what Dr. King’s life was all about and I believe that’s what the True Blue Pledge is all about,” Windrow explained. “Stories are powerful. They inspire us, they connect us, they help us build community and they allow us to pass down traditions and values from one generation and to the next.”

Dakota Logan, college pastor at The Point Campus Ministry, talked to students about the “power of choosing a seat,” and challenged them to “step into the uncomfortable” as they begin the spring semester and “build bridges instead of walls.”

“So what if, this semester, instead of choosing your seat based on what’s most comfortable, you chose to sit next to someone who is different from you,” Logan said. “In that small, simple act of choosing your seats and seeing humanity in someone who is different from you … that is a small step towards stepping into the vision of Dr. King … to build bridges instead of walls.”

Cameron Weatherspoon, president of Kappa Xi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at MTSU, talked about the positive impact King, a fraternity brother, made to pave a pathway for education.

“The work of Dr. King and the civil rights leaders of the past and present have made it possible for me to pursue an education and dream career in the field of aviation,” said Weatherspoon, an aerospace major from Bartlett.

Madison Pearson, recording secretary and sergeant at arms for Eta Psi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority at MTSU, also spoke to the crowd about the Kings’ impact in her life. Mrs. King was an honorary member of the sorority.

“With everything going on in the world, it’s good to have this program to make people remember why we are here and remind us of everything Dr. King fought for, and we shouldn’t shy away from it,” said Pearson, a business innovation and entrepreneurship major from Jackson, “because it seems like we’re traveling backwards right now.”

For the first time, the annual program was moved from a nighttime vigil on the federal holiday when the university closed to a daytime slot on the second day of classes so more of the campus community could attend.

“We hope that this will encourage and empower as we move forward in the days ahead,” said Danielle Rochelle, director of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, which hosts the annual event.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)