Today's young Americans must combine their technological savvy with a commitment to environmental sustainability to help achieve Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream of a just society, keynote speaker Van Jones told the audience at Princeton University's annual King Day ceremony.
This year's event focused on exploring the environmental impact of Hurricane Katrina and the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast region, in the context of King's vision for equality and his concern for the poor and oppressed. The theme was addressed in literary arts, visual arts and video contests for students from area schools. Jones, an environmental activist who is a visiting fellow at Princeton, pointed to the student contest winners who were honored at the ceremony as examples of a generation that holds the power to realize King's vision.