Two living legends of the Civil Rights movement—one black, one white—sat together in front of an overflow crowd in Light Hall January 21 and swapped inspiring memories of freedom rides, lunch counter sit-ins and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Bernard LaFayette Jr., Ed.D., and John Seigenthaler are old friends who played key roles in the 1961 Freedom Rides. The Schools of Medicine and Nursing sponsored their dialog on “What the Lessons of the Past Can Tell Us About the Present and Future” as part of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series.

LaFayette is a former Freedom Rider and is now Distinguished Scholar in Residence and director of the University of Rhode Island's Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies.

Seigenthaler is former editor, publisher and CEO of the Tennessean and founder of the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt. In 1961 Seigenthaler served as assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.

Before LaFayette and Seigenthaler spoke, the first Vanderbilt Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. award was presented to Susanne Brinkley, director of Medical Education for the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance.

The Martin Luther King Jr. award will be given each year to a faculty or staff member who emulates the principles of Dr. King through his or her work at Vanderbilt.

Ms. Brinkley had these comments on receiving this distinguished award: “I struggle to find words to express my gratitude and overwhelming honor to have been named the first recipient of the Vanderbilt University Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. award. A simple ‘thank you’ seems a feeble way to acknowledge this stellar award because it means so much to me and is such a high honor. I do appreciate this award and efforts that we all make to create opportunities and to nurture creativity, learning, equality, and goodness.”

Ms. Brinkley has served the Alliance since April 2001. She works closely with both Meharry and Vanderbilt to facilitate increased collaboration between the institutions to enhance the educational experience of students and to identify cross-campus opportunities for enrichment of faculty and staff. The executive board and members of the MVSA appreciate the guidance that Ms. Brinkley brings to the organization and wish to congratulate her on receiving this distinguished award.