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January 19, 2026 | By Cole Hatcher

Sierra Austin-King, Ph.D., honors the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his role as a lantern keeper and outlines what people need to do to keep freedom's flame burning during her keynote address Jan. 19 at Ohio Wesleyan University. (Photos by Paul Vernon)

'Share Your Light'

Ohio Wesleyan hosts Delaware's 33rd Martin Luther King Celebration, 'The Lantern Keepers'

Master of ceremonies Jason Timpson carries a lantern to open the Jan. 19 MLK celebration.

In welcoming the sold-out crowd to the 33rd Delaware County Martin Luther King Celebration, master of ceremonies Jason Timpson promised the group "a blend of celebration, education, and inspiration, honoring the past while igniting the flame for the future."

"I am inviting people to come with me into freedom," said Timpson, director of the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs at Ohio Wesleyan University, where the Jan. 19 celebration was held. "I am inviting people to come with me into liberation. … We will lean on each other to get things done."

The theme of the 2026 celebration was "The Lantern Keepers: Preserving the Flame of Justice."

A Shared Struggle

President Matt vandenBerg welcomes the sold-out crowd to Ohio Wesleyan for the 33rd Delaware County MLK Celebration.

Ohio Wesleyan President Matt vandenBerg, Ed.D., also addressed the MLK crowd, sharing, "This theme reminds us that the work of justice was never meant to rest in the hands of a single leader, a single march, or a single generation. The struggle for peace and justice is shared, and it transcends lifetimes and generations."

Historically, vandenBerg continued, "The Civil Rights Movement didn't start by winning arguments. It began with people taking action, together. People trained in nonviolence. They cooked meals, and they cared for one another. They walked to their destinations instead of riding segregated buses. They sat, and they stood, and they marched – knowing the cost. People didn't just protest injustice – they built a culture strong enough to withstand it. …

"[A]t Ohio Wesleyan, we say something very simple and very demanding: On our campus, our love language is action," he said. "Action when no one is watching. Action that tells people – especially those who have been marginalized or targeted – 'Here, in this place, we see you.'

"When we choose – collectively and together – to be the kind of community that shows up – again and again – we carry the flame forward," vandenBerg said. "We become the lantern."

Intergenerational Work

Sierra Austin-King encourages people to share their light and become involved in Civil Rights work during her keynote address.

The event's keynote speaker, Sierra Austin-King, Ph.D., honored King for his role as a lantern-keeper and outlined what everyone needs to do to keep the flame burning.

"With his lantern, Dr. King organized for people he would never meet," Austin-King said. "He risked his life for futures he would never inhabit. He understood that justice work is intergenerational."

Austin-King, an assistant professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Black Studies at The Ohio State University, shared: "We are lantern-keepers when we teach truth, even when it's uncomfortable. We are lantern-keepers when we organize, when we vote, when we mentor, protest, and imagine. We are lantern-keepers when we design futures that do not replicate harm but actively dismantle it. We are lantern-keepers when we practice care as resistance and imagination as discipline."

A Call to Action

What can people do to continue advancing King's dream? "So, here's our call to action," Austin-King said:

  • "You gotta tend your lantern," she said, encouraging people to learn their history deeply and read the works of related scholars. "Reflection isn't passive, it's preparation."
  • "Share your light," Austin-King continued. "Justice is collective work. Find where your skills meet your community needs."
  • "Imagine boldly," she stated. "Refuse futures that reduce oppression. … Imagination is not indulgence. It is strategy."
  • "Pass the flame forward," Austin-King said. "Invest in others. Tell them the truth about the past and the possibility of the future. Let them know they are not late to the struggle, that they are right on time."

"May we be worthy ancestors," Austin-King concluded. "May we be faithful lantern-keepers, and may we preserve the flame of justice until it lights a world transformed."

Eyes Open

Chad Johns tells the crowd now is not a time for people to pray for peace and justice with eyes closed.

Also during the 2026 MLK celebration, guests enjoyed readings, musical performances by Constance Dees and Chrissy T, a living wax museum created by Ohio Wesleyan students, a look at the impact of Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer by OWU Chief Diversity Officer Dawn Chisebe, an invocation by Pastor Alvin Asiamah of Soul Restoration Ministry, and a benediction by OWU Chaplain Chad Johns.

In his remarks, Johns invited the crowd to participate in the MLK event's concluding prayer "with your eyes open, because we are not in a season where we can afford to close our eyes."

The annual event, organized by the Delaware County MLK Day Committee and Ohio Wesleyan, raises funds to benefit the Delaware County Martin Luther King Scholarship Program, which has awarded tens of thousands in scholarships to Delaware County students since 1990.

Watch a recording of the celebration. View photos from this event on Flickr.