MU| F e a t u r e s
of King’s visit to students would only
strengthen with time. He knew “for years to
come, around dinner tables, they would be
discussing the civil rights movement, and they
were there.”
Manchester was the last campus where
Dr. King would speak – he was murdered
two months later. The building no longer
stands. But his visit is ingrained in the
University’s legacy and embedded in the
hearts of those he inspired.
For Sue Wells ’70 Livers, the only African-
American in the Class of 1970, life at
Manchester wasn’t always easy, but it was
where she wanted to be. She recognized that
Manchester was on the side of equality and
integration and “they seemed to really try
to include every nationality and every
race on campus.”
After all, she says, Manchester recognized
her potential and sent someone all the way
to Madison, Ind., to recruit her.
After King’s visit, Manchester’s
enrollment became steadily, if
slowly, more diverse. Today the
University is more diverse than
at any time in its history.
Jo Young ’69 Switzer who had lunch with
King that day, says Manchester has always
been more welcoming than some colleges
and universities and encourages students to
respect and learn from differences. “That skill
helped me through life, and it helps me yet
today.”
Adds Switzer, “I definitely believe all of us
were committed to making the campus a place
that welcomed all people, even at a time when
some towns were not as open as they are now.
I was – and still am – proud to be associated
with a school that respects the infinite worth
of every person.”
Joel Eikenberry ’68 is proud too. He learned
a lot about his school and President Helman
when he went to Washington, D.C., with other
Manchester students to march against the
Vietnam War. They called President Helman
beforehand and asked his permission to carry
a sign that said they were from Manchester
College. “He thought only a few moments
before he agreed,” remembers Eikenberry.
“Manchester is about living out our values,”
Helman told the marchers. “That is who
we are.”
By Melinda Lantz ’81
Dr. King is pictured in the old gymnasium-auditorium in the
top two photos and walking up the steps inside the Union
at far left. At left, demonstrators protest King’s visit and his
opposition to the Vietnam War. In his speech, “The Future of
Integration,” King called for an economic “Marshall Plan” to
lift Americans out of poverty. The United States, he said, was
spending nearly 10 times as much money to kill a Viet Cong
soldier as it was spending to help an American living in poverty.
Photo at left courtesy of The Fort Wayne News-Sentinel.
Manchester | 13