Spotlight on MLK Studies – William Cerf
Did you know that Union Institute & University offers one of the few Ph.D. specializations in Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Studies in the country? In recognition of this distinct honor, and in remembrance of Dr. King, this month we are featuring some of the people who are part of the MLK Studies program.
William Cerf, Student: Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies, Martin Luther King Jr. Studies specialization
How do you apply Dr. King’s philosophies in your everyday life?
I have adopted this quote by Dr. King from the The Trumpet of Conscience to guide my philosophy in my everyday life:
“The dispossessed of this nation – the poor, both white and Negro – live in a cruelly unjust society. They must organize…against the injustice, “not against the lives of the persons who are their fellow citizens, but against the structures” (italics mine) through which the society is refusing to take means which have been called for, and which are at hand, to lift the load of poverty. There are millions of poor people in this country who have very little, or even nothing to lose. If they can be helped to take action together, they will do so with a freedom and a power that will be a new and unsettling force in our complacent national life. I believe that injustice in any part of America is injustice in America. ”
In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail Dr. King states “Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere in this country.” Lately, my Christian faith has called me to speak out about unjust prosecution of African-American judges in Cincinnati and throughout the US.
William Cerf has over 20 years of experience as a problem solver in project coordination and customer service. He has a strong passion for serving clients, working toward accomplishment of organizational goals and meeting objectives in a timely cost effective manner.
He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Jones International University with a Master of Arts in Business Communication and holds an undergraduate degree from California State University in Los Angeles.
Cerf was a presenter at the January 2014 Union Institute & University Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. residency, was published in Philosophy for Business in 2010, and is active in community service.
Learn more about Union’s MLK Studies specialization here.