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BK Fulton, a pioneer and leader in the business, non-profit and entertainment world, visited Christopher Newport to share his insight on how to make the world a better place by dissipating the blanket of hatred and darkness.
Fulton, an engineer, producer, architect, and attorney, was part of CNU’s President’s Leadership Speaker Series and was on campus to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His speech was entitled "Clearing the Fog.”
His message to the students, faculty and community members at Gaines Theatre was clear: People must be the light that pierces the theoretical “fog” that can cloud the world. King, whose birthday was celebrated this week, believed it was “always the right time to do the right thing,” Fulton said.
“Dr. King reminded us that evil doesn’t just thrive on hateful words and deeds. It’s a malignancy that grows in the silence of places, especially where good people remain silent or fail to act. Bias and racism are like a fog that settles over a community. It doesn’t always roar like a storm. Sometimes, it drifts in slowly, quietly, obstructing our vision, doubling our senses and making it hard to see one another clearly,” he said.
The good news, Fulton said, is that people have the power to lift that fog. Dr. King, he said, preached that there is strength and resolve in standing up for what’s right, and for being part of the force that can send fog away, and, in its place, usher in light.
“The sunshine of love can clear the fog when we choose love, action and courage. Love calls us to speak when silence is easier. Love compels us to stand up when sitting down feels safe. Love illuminates the past we didn't even know was there. Love is the right thing,” Fulton said.
A producer of award-winning Broadway shows and the former president of Verizon Communications, Fulton appealed to the audience to always choose the high road, to be authentic in relationships, and to strive to leave the world a better place. He urged people to speak up and stand strong against hatred. Despite his success in the world of technology, he suggested people put down their phones and instead spend quality time with one another.
“Fog loses its effect in the warmth of human kindness, active friendship, inspired by things hoped for, free of toxic behavior and bound in love,” he said. “Together we can clear the fog as we lift ourselves above it, working to remember our lives begin and end that day we become silent about things that matter.”
President William G. Kelly shared Fulton’s beliefs that humanity has the ability to clear the fog that can cloud communities.
“Dr. King reminded us that ‘darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that,’” Kelly said “When we think of navigating through the fog, we should remember that fog does not disappear because it is fought or resisted. It lifts when light and warmth change the conditions that allow it to exist.”
The University, he said, is focused on being that light and creating an atmosphere free of fog.
“At Christopher Newport, our Strategic Compass serves as that light - guiding us through uncertainty toward our aspiration of becoming the most inclusive university in Virginia, a campus where every individual is valued, every voice matters, and every person knows they belong and can be their very best self,” Kelly said.