It is “difficult to overstate the influence that Dr. King has had on my life, my thinking and my work,” says Jason Q. Purnell, PhD, the Center for Social Development’s faculty director of Community Engagement. 
On January 18, Purnell delivered remarks titled “Ancient virtues for modern times: Lessons from the life of Martin Luther King” at the 29th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration at Washington University.
Purnell, an assistant professor at the Brown School, spoke of truths drawn from King’s life and work that “seem to me most useful for us at this time of uncommon change and opportunity here in St. Louis and throughout the nation. They are not only truths, they are virtues. I know that virtue is a dusty, aged concept, ancient as Aristotle, but I would argue it is more necessary now than ever.” Click here to read his full remarks.