Guest Speaker Pauline Jennett, EdD, MDiv, MBA (fourth from right) with members of Pastoral Care, who take the lead every year for the MLK celebration.
Last month, HUP again celebrated the legacy of hope and inspiration that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left behind. This year – the 50th anniversary of his death – is an especially bittersweet recognition, said Regina Cunningham, PhD, RN, the CEO of the hospital. “I think about the impact of his work – helping people change the way they think about the world,” she said “That’s critical, changing thoughts and behaviors. Embracing diversity and inclusion helps to strengthen us as an organization.”
It is especially true in healthcare, where disparities can lead to poorer outcomes, she continued. “The power of diversity is unleashed when we respect each other and value and celebrate our differences.”
Guest speaker Pauline Jennett, EdD, MDiv, MBA, spoke of King’s legacy of love. In King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, he talked of the government’s promise in which “all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
“He spoke of the bad check, drawn on a defaulting system of justice, that was uncashable. Could we cash that check for justice today? Can we cash the check in our health care systems? Can we cash the check in our educational systems?”
For MLK day, Sheila Cummings, CRNP, and her son Wesley participated in the University’s day of service.
But King also asked people to “not seek to satisfy our thirst by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.” And that is where Jennett stands as well. “I will show love and compassion for the poor and disenfranchised, and the immigrants,” Jennett said. “When the history books close, I want to be on the side of the legacy of love, filled with courage and determination. Our legacy is to be a courageous legacy of love.”
An example of that legacy of love and compassion came in the service of Sheila Cummings, CRNP, of the Penn Center for Connected Health, who participated in the University’s day of service for Martin Luther King Day son Wesley. They made bags and filled them with toiletries for homeless women, made cards, and also sorted professional clothing donated for those in need to go to interviews or start a new job.