On Monday, Jan. 19, dozens of students, faculty and community members gathered in the Villard Room for Vassar College’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast. President of the College Elizabeth Bradley, Deputy to the President and Secretary of the Board of Trustees Wesley Dixon and Associate Dean of the College for Student Growth and Engagement Wendy Maragh Taylor organized the event and delivered remarks. The speakers shared personal stories, discussed their desire to foster a more inclusive college community and spoke about the significance of King’s legacy.
Also speaking at the event were Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet Executive Director Jill Gomez, Professor of Drama Shona Tucker and Associate Dean of the College for Religious and Spiritual Life and Contemplative Practices Reverend Callista Isabelle. Additionally, several Vassar students wrote and recited poetry about King and his work.
Taylor opened the event by welcoming Poughkeepsie residents and Vassar students back to campus following winter break. She then spoke about how diversity is crucial for shaping a compassionate and supportive community. “How wonderful to have different perspectives based on our varying experiences and identities, and how this beautiful world would be lacking if that did not exist,” Taylor said. Dixon, who followed Taylor, echoed her comments. Reflecting on those in the audience, Dixon noted, “[This event] reminded me of one of my favorite proverbs, which is ‘a single bracelet alone does not jingle,’ and hearing you all talk and be together and coming together from diverse backgrounds—our community partners, students, faculty, administrators—I’m hearing some of the jingling of your presence together in this room.”
Taylor stressed the importance of hearing and respecting all perspectives in a community, especially challenging or unpopular ones. She argued, “If [diversity] did not exist in our classrooms, on our college campuses, in our churches, in neighborhoods, in synagogues, in mosques, in our places, in our neighborhood, the world would not be quite so lovely.” Over the past year, the Trump administration has rolled back Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies within the federal workforce, and has targeted colleges, organizations and private contractors. In this context, Taylor urged students to not only remember King but embody his work and enact his message in their own lives and actions: “And so I invite you on this MLK Day, not only to be here, to reflect on his legacy, but to think about how we might participate and be engaged in it. In the kind of service he was engaged in. To contribute to a new world.”
Bradley touched on similar points and emphasized her commitment to unite the Vassar and Poughkeepsie communities: “We have so many different backgrounds, different roles, different areas of expertise, different ideas about what the world is and should be. But we’re also deeply tied, one way or another, to this local community. Vassar, Poughkeepsie, the area around you.” Bradley acknowledged that differences in perspective and agenda have at times divided the Vassar administration from its student body and community members. In December, the Miscellany reported that Vassar, through a real-estate subsidiary, planned to demolish and redevelop over two acres of land in downtown Arlington, which would displace many local businesses and residents. The plan sparked backlash among students and Poughkeepsie residents. In her remarks, Bradley suggested that by embodying King’s legacy, the College aims to prioritize collaboration and overcome disagreement: “I think we demonstrate, as a collective, that in a diverse setting we can really work towards common goals. Sometimes that has required us to let go of our little, petty disagreements. Other days, it’s really about collaboration in our conceptual teamwork. And within Vassar and beyond Vassar.”
Exploring the continued relevance of King’s message, Bradley quoted Rumi, a 13th century Persian Islamic scholar, poet and mystic: “Out beyond ideas of rightdoing and wrongdoing, there is a view. I’ll meet you there.” Bradley also shared what she believes is the purpose of honoring King, and how he can teach us to overcome our own struggles and achieve a brighter future: “MLK Day reminds me of the forever struggle to find wholeness amid brokenness, to promote love and care even when we disagree and when differences in worldviews try to separate us. The memory of Martin Luther King Jr. can fuel us to always build that loving community.”
In an interview with The Miscellany News, students who attended the event shared their takeaways and commented on connections they saw to recent political news. Iesha DeSilva ’28 said, “It really made me think of ICE… That was a really big current event that drew me in.” On Jan. 7, 2026, Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American citizen, was shot to death by ICE agents. Multiple ICE agents shot ten times and killed a second American citizen, 37-year-old Alex Pretti, on Jan. 25, 2026. Both killings incited national outrage and cast doubt on the Trump administration’s commitment to protecting American citizens, regardless of their political beliefs. Similarly, Hannah Straub ’28 said, “I think they did a good job holding an awareness for how urgent change is currently and how it’s really hard to hold out hope right now because things seem to be very bad.” Straub added, “I think they were able to make space for anxiety while also having a call to action.”
Though many speakers referred to broad ideals and systemic injustices, all presentations emphasized the importance of strengthening the existing bonds within the local Vassar and Poughkeepsie communities and honoring the differences between them. Straub shared, “I was inspired by how many different people there were with different backgrounds, like people from the Poughkeepsie community, people who work at the College, students.” When asked what she felt like could be done to combat divisiveness and promote a stronger sense of belonging, she explained, “I feel like there’s a lot of urgency right now, but I think [this event] represented that there’s also change going on as a community and I think individuals have a responsibility to get out and get involved with one another.”