Galen Anderson
Staff Writer
On Monday, Jan. 19, the campus celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day under the theme of “Love in Action.” This year’s programming included a morning prayer breakfast, a series of Justice Dialogues hosted by various faculty and staff and a keynote address delivered by Afiya M. Mbilishaka. Mbilishaka is a professor at Wellesley College, clinical psychologist and founder of PsychoHairapy. Mbilishaka’s keynote address took place in Scheide Music Center’s Gault Recital Hall at 3:30 p.m., closing out the day’s event schedule.
Mbilishaka’s talk focused on how individuals can practice love at three levels: self-love, loving another person and loving communities of people. She connected each level with a group exercise intended to demonstrate how dialogues around love and community include and exclude Black experience. Mbilishaka also shared how academic spaces contribute to other communities.
Mbilishaka focused on the importance of humanizing historical figures, to frame them as people rather than idols. “We cannot do hero worship,” she said. During her time at the University of Pennsylvania, she led a thought exercise where famous Black figures like Muhammed Ali and Madam C.J. Walker were described in anonymous intake profiles, including life experiences and potential symptoms of psychological issues; Revealing the identities behind the profiles was meant to show that even venerated historical figures experienced common problems. “We don’t always think about these stories, we think about the successes,” Mbilishaka said.
Mbilishaka then detailed King’s various traumas, developing a clinical psychological profile in the same type of exercise, contrasting with the often-heroicized descriptions of King. Mbilishaka shared that her grandmothers idolized King without talking about his human experiences. “We oftentimes don’t lead with people’s traumas. We lead with their successes,” she said.
She ended the talk with a discussion of what individuals can do to act with love in their communities related to King’s sentiments. She first suggested creative maladjustment, saying “the refusal to accept unjust or dehumanizing societal structures, channeling [discontent] into societal structures into constructive action for social change rather than conforming to harmful norms.”
Mbilishaka also encouraged the expression of love languages by asking a series of questions corresponding to the ways in which people show affection. She prompted discussion with a series of questions about showing love in different ways. Some questions included: “Do your conversations protect dignity or reinforce fear?,” “What are you willing to do when there’s no recognition attached?” and “Who are you fully present with?”
Mbilishaka described the special role of individuals in spaces like The College of Wooster, saying “As members of this academic community, we have the privilege and responsibility to channel our love into action. Our role is to engage in informed dialogue … to challenge injustices whenever we see them and to support one another in the pursuit of an equitable future.”
