Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day

An email message sent to members of the Assumption community on January 19, 2026:

Dear Assumption Community,

Sixty-five years ago, hundreds throughout central Massachusetts flocked to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. speak at Worcester’s Temple Emmanuel, just two miles from our campus, at the invitation of Rabbi Joseph Klein—a pillar of thecommunity and friend of Assumption. That day, Rabbi Klein was not the first, and surely will not be the last, to draw comparison between Dr. King and the prophet Moses. 

Like so many great spiritual leaders, Dr. King was a profound political thinker. He could see the soul of humanity and that which animates us. I believe he would have agreed with the founder of the Augustinians of the Assumption, the venerable Fr. Emmanuel d’Alzon, who wrote that “the world, even in a decadent state, is governed by ideas.” A decadent world may not bend to a whim, but it can be moved by an idea. 

What Dr. King brought to Worcester was not simply an impassioned plea, nor news alone, but an idea—a vision. That of a world built on respect for the foundational dignity arising from every human person’s creation in God’s own image. 

Dr. King’s life was marked by inspiring people to cultivate the common good not despite their differences, but because of them. We honor that legacy at Assumption through our commitment to fostering an Augustinian vision of civic friendship in which our differences are productive because they are rooted in a shared purpose: the pursuit of truth. 

May we forever rise to Dr. King’s challenge, seeking our common dignity and the common good for and with each other.

Sincerely,

Greg Weiner, Ph.D.
President
Assumption University