“In case I lose connection, or you lose connection, I want to give you the takeaway first: We’re all in this together.” Those words were spoken March 4 by Dr. Oveta Fuller, who gave the address during the first virtual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation and Community Celebration, presented by Albion College and the Albion Branch of the NAACP.

In all, 150 students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends watched the annual event that typically is held in downtown Albion’s Bohm Theatre but became an online gathering this year due to the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A professor with the University of Michigan Medical School and an adjunct professor of Payne Theological Seminary, Dr. Fuller also serves on the nation’s Vaccine and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. This is the committee that has been examining COVID-19 vaccines for the Food and Drug Administration and recommending them for use by the public. In her Albion presentation, Dr. Fuller reflected on how all Americans are held back when history doesn’t include African Americans—and how all Americans gain when even painful truths are brought to light. A question-and-answer session with viewers followed her remarks.

Watch Dr. Fuller’s address and the entire virtual event in the above video.