“Segregation now! Segregation tomorrow! Segregation forever!”

The crowd roared with approval Jan. 14, 1963, a day well remembered by older Americans but unfamiliar to many college students today. This was the date when Gov. George Wallace gave his inaugural address in Montgomery, Ala.

This week marked the 50th anniversary of Wallace’s defiant words, which are among the most infamous in U.S. history.

They defined a world of racism and oppression – a world that today is consigned to the forgotten past. The horrors of segregation are needed to prove the continuing importance of the civil rights movement.

In honor of the Civil Rights Movement, Elon University held an annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beloved Community Celebration. This weeklong celebration began Jan. 15 with a civil rights-themed art festival at College Coffee.

The Hearth Lounge in the Moseley Student Center was completely lined with numerous photographs on display. People circled the room with muffins and coffee in hand, gazing thoughtfully at the art.

Todd Drake, a human rights advocate, was the featured artist. He tours across the globe, spreading a message of equality through his work.

Drake said his mission is to provoke consideration of the stereotypes we all carry. His display gave students insight into the lives of Muslim Americans. The photos conveyed the hardships these people have faced since 9/11. Some photographs made viewers smile and others saddened them.

“It’s beautiful,” said senior Courtland Dooley. “Every piece has its own story.”

Dooley was particularly moved by an image depicting the struggle of a mother and son immigrating into the United States after the father had been killed.

Other students smiled at the lighthearted piece of a man revealing a Superman symbol under a black button-down shirt.

Multiple organizations came together to launch the 2013 celebration, including the Elon Teaching Fellows, the Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement, the LGBTQIA Center, the Office of Student Activities, the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and the multicultural center.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee plans the annual event. The committee is led by Leon Williams, director of the multicultural center.

Williams said the event was an opportunity to reflect on efforts of liberation because oppression has hit all people to some degree.

This is the third year the MLK committee has used College Coffee to commemorate the civil rights movement. The art display is a way for students and faculty to reflect on the movement in an interactive way which, according to Williams, suits College Coffee’s casual atmosphere.

Junior Immanuel Bryant warned that in the midst of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, people often forget the purpose of celebrating the civil rights movement.

“It can be hypnotizing,” Bryant said. “They overlook the real struggle that people went through because it’s easier.”

Fifty years later, Wallace’s call for “segregation forever” rings in few ears.

“The civil rights movement was a great start,” Drake said. “But the work isn’t over.”