By Lauren Roberts
l-roberts@onu.edu
Last Thursday night students, faculty and the public packed the Ohio Northern chapel to hear the inspirational message offered by football coach Herman Boone.
Coach Boone’s great success as a football coach and as a leader for equal rights was captured in the popular Disney film Remember the Titans.
Extra benches had to be brought into the chapel in order to seat the large crowd. Although those in attendance were enthralled by Coach Boone’s football experiences, his purpose for coming to ONU was to discuss the importance of celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Coach Boone started off his speech with an apology.  
“Since Denzel can’t make it, I hope you won’t mind me being here. His wife, Pauletta, says I’m the only one who’s better looking,” Boone said.
All joking aside, Boone emphasized the importance of celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.’s life instead of mourning his death.
“We gather here not to remember Dr. King’s death, but rather celebrate his life. We are not here to wonder what he could have done if he had more time, but rather celebrate what he was able to do in the amount of time he had,” Boone said.
Not only did Boone feel motivated by King’s message, but he had the privilege of knowing King personally. During a scheduled football practice, Boone’s players went to walk in a Civil Rights march. Boone joined his players and marched even at the risk of losing his job. It wasn’t long before other teachers joined Boone in the march for equality. King heard about Boone’s sacrifice and invited him to breakfast.
“I left so fast that the Lord didn’t hear about it until the next week,” Boone said.
This wasn’t his only meeting with King. Later when Boone refused to pick up used books from a white school to bring them to a black school, he had the honor of meeting with King again. Shortly after their second meeting, King was killed.
It was evident that Boone believed that there is still progress that needs to be made to insure equality.
“We’ve come a long way, but we’ve got a long way to go. Rosa sat so Martin could march, and Martin marched so Barrack could run.”
Boone had some advice when it came to spreading King’s message.
“We must teach our children to read the Birmingham Jail letter. The letter is a torch that we must pass on,” Boone said. “I’ve always been fascinated with the letter because I’m experiencing it today.”
Boone also said that King’s work should not be forgotten.
“Doctor King fought for freedom not so we could recklessly kill each other. We must continue to honor his life and his work. We must fulfill his dream and act out his dream,” Boone said.
He challenged the audience to never let King’s birthday become an insignificant day off.
“It’s not a day off, it’s a day on. It’s okay to stop and rest, but you do not have permission to quit. Remember that dreams have no expiration dates,” he said.