Shreveport native helps establish Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as holiday on college campus
âThey werenât really letting students or faculty celebrate the holidayâ Whittier College students gather in January 2020 in support of establishing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day as an official holiday on the campus. (Source: Journee Bradford) By Destinee Patterson | January 17, 2021 at 7:12 PM CST - Updated January 18 at 4:00 PM
SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) â Journee Bradford carried her leadership skills with her from C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport to Whittier College in Los Angeles.
As president of the collegeâs Black Student Association at that time, she immediately took initiative when she realized the institution did not recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as an official holiday.
One year ago, Journee Bradford launched a petition drive urging Whittier College, the school she attended, to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That led to other demands for more diverse faculty and improving enrollment and retention for the few Black students on campus.
Because of Bradford’s initiative, despite attending classes virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, Whittie’s students will join millions to celebrate MLK Day on Monday and Cesar Chavez Day on March 31 for the first time in school history. Bradford said students are organizing a Black History Jeopardy over Instagram Live with giftcards to winners.
And she’s done so much more.