“It’s a humbling experience to come back. It taught us there was so much to give back to the world and it has meant the world to us to do that,” Marshall, a Springfield native and 2009 Springfield High graduate, said before the event.
Mbeseha, whose family moved to State College, Pa. from Buea, Cameroon in Central Africa, was glad to be back where it got started for him.
Marshall saw his father’s involvement in civil rights and social justice as an early example and how he could recall the stories his dad retold almost line for line. Books were an inspiration and when Conscious Connect was launched, he made sure to use some of the same titles.
“Knowing your history is important,” he said.
Mbeseha’s family were educators and that education was the foundation of his life, with Nelson Mandela a huge influence.
Partnership blossoms
Both were student athletes at Wittenberg and only knew each other casually until just before their senior year. They developed a close friendship and their future endeavors realized as the year progressed.
The most critical was what should have been a memorable time with Mbeseha receiving the Martin Luther King Jr. Award at that spring’s convocation became an experience that would bring the pair even closer and their activist inspiration.
A racial slur appeared on a fountain on the campus. Mbeseha, who was president of Wittenberg’s Concerned Black Students (CBS), was dumbfounded at this and worked with other student leaders to address it, planning a walkout after he received the award in protest.
“When you find something you don’t agree with, talk through it and have action that shows to the community,” he said. “It was something bigger than the fountain, it was something bigger for the university in the long term.”
Marshall said the incident helped move him to becoming a leader.
“That was the message of Dr. King, that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” he said.
Upon graduation, Marshall would go on to work on his masters degree and would reunite with Mbeseha upon seeing many abandoned buildings, lots and literacy deficiencies here and formed The Conscious Connect in 2016 to address these.
Marshall and Mbeseha are most proud of living King’s ideals, using their organization to work with common people to improve their lives.
“Everything goes full circle when you move with conviction and purpose,” Marshall said.
Marshall and Mbeseha’s examples resonated with student attendees and future leaders. This was the first live MLK Convocation for Wittenberg junior and CBS vice president Naevon Boykin, who said it was a great way to do innovative things on the campus.
“We’ve had a lack of events, so this is nice to bring it back. It brings a great aspect of community to be informed and you can see great changes and getting the students involved,” said Boykin. “Black history should be celebrated all the time, not just now.”
Even younger area students came in such as Noah Whitt, a Shawnee High freshman who participates in Wittenberg’s Upward Bound Program to build toward his goal of earning a computer science degree. He wanted to know more about MLK’s legacy and cultural activities the school offers.
The convocation was part of the 2023-24 Wittenberg Series of events and lectures for the campus and community. Katie Warber, director of academic programming and events, said it was good to have this and the series back, which had one previous online convocation in 2021, but this was a chance to reboot.
Past MLK Convocation presenters have been mostly activists and civil rights leaders and this offered a more modern slant.
“Since Karlos and Moses are building bridges between Wittenberg and Springfield, we thought they’d be helping use this as a springboard for the future,” she said.
The Conscious Connect will be active in the community in 2024 working for fair and affordable housing efforts in southwest Springfield, a new pocket park, renovation efforts and other projects.
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