Students are invited to join President Matson at the Jan. 18, MLK National Day of Service March.
“It is important for us to come together on the spirit of what Dr. King meant for the unity of our country,” Matson said.
Jaguars will march with President Matson under this year’s MLK march theme “uniting communities to advance humanity.”
“To me this means as a student community we are a greater force together as a group than we are individually, and as an emerging university we have an important role in San Antonio,” she said. “Because a majority of our students are from an underrepresented ethnic group this whole notion of a what Dr. King stood for, advancing equity and respect and dignity and humanity ties us all together.”
There are two meet-up locations for students, faculty and staff who want to march with the president.
Jaguars will gather at 9 a.m. on the tennis courts next to the Boys and Girls Club, 3503 Martin Luther King Dr., or at St. Philip’s College, 1801 Martin Luther King Dr. (Lot 22), the VIA bus drop-off point for marchers. The march starts at 10 a.m.
VIA is providing free bus service for marchers. To take advantage of the service riders must park at St. Philip’s College (Lot 22) or Freeman Coliseum, 3201 E. Houston St. (Lot 1), between 8-10 a.m.
Marchers will be dropped off on MLK Drive, west of Upland Drive. Busses will pick up returning marchers at Pittman-Sullivan Park, 1101 Iowa St. between noon and 3 p.m.
Organizers project more than 150,000 participants will trek through San Antonio’s historically African-American East Side to commemorate the work of Nobel Prize winner and civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“Part of what Dr. King really was impassioned about was about getting involved, sharing your voice, and standing up for what you believe in,” President Matson said. “And that’s part of what our students can do here on campus, is standing up, getting engaged and helping students be connected in the community.”
A&M San Antonio T-shirts will be handed out to participating students. Mr. and Ms. A&M San Antonio Yamell Valencia and Shelby Benzoni, are among the marchers.
Participants wanting a T-shirt must RSVP Student Activities by 4:00 p.m. Friday through JagSync.
New faculty and staff without an A&M-San Antonio email, or anyone needing help with JagSync , can call Student Activities Coordinator Gretchen Doenges at 784-1388.
March route and information can be found at SanAntonio.gov.
DreamWeek
The nearly three-mile march is the culmination of “DreamWeek,” the city’s 12-day celebration of tolerance and diversity. San Antonio’s march is one of the largest annual MLK marches in the United States.
“I think this week as a whole has prepared us for the march,” MLK Commission Chairman Brandon Logan said.
It is important that people understand what the civil rights movement was about, especially the generations who came after who were not alive to experience it, he said.
“I am the youngest chair ever to commission,” Logan said. “I am 31 years old. And so it is important that my generation and the generations that come after me understands what the civil rights movement was really about because we were never directly involved.”
DreamWeek activities feature keynote speakers such as Martin Luther King III, community discussion panels, art exhibits, fashion shows and more. For a detailed schedule of events, visit Dreamweek.org.
“It’s important that we convey a bold and deliberate message, to ensure that San Antonio realizes that we want to bring everybody together,” Logan said So whether you are a Sikh, whether you are Muslim, Christian or Buddhist, regardless of that, we want to get together to promote peace, justice and human equality for all.”
