January 28, 2025
Find purpose, build community, Matthew Slater urges at MLK Celebration
Matthew Slater, whose 16 seasons as a special teams player for the New England Patriots included three Super Bowl championships, and who now operates the Slater Family Foundation with his wife, Dr. Shahrzad Ehdaivand Slater, was the keynote speaker at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Providence College.
The college hosts the annual celebration to honor Dr. King and his dream to create a beloved community. As part of the event, the MLK Vision Awards are presented to students and alumni who best exemplify Dr. King’s mission. This year’s awards were presented to Bilal Dixon ’12, Daleth Rodriguez ’27, and Mouhamed Thiam ’25.
Watch Matthew Slater
In his presentation on Thursday, January 23, 2025, Slater spoke of how Dr. King’s work was life-changing for his parents. They were born in Mississippi in 1954, the year that the Supreme Court outlawed racial segregation in schools, but it was not until they were in 10th grade that the law was enforced and they attended school with white children for the first time. For many Blacks of their generation, Dr. King was the catalyst to a change they desperately needed. Slater remains grateful that the civil rights leader answered the call to work to change the experience of Blacks in America.
“I do hope and pray that each of us does, at some point in our lives, experience a purposeful and passionate call,” Slater said. “It’s my personal belief that until we realize what God has placed us here for, we don’t truly start living life.”
Finding one’s call means asking oneself, “What is it that’s outside of myself that guides me, that gives me purpose and drive, that transcends my circumstances each and every day when I get out of bed? For me, that’s always been my faith in God,” Slater said.
We all need a truth that will anchor us because life is challenging, Slater said. It was challenging for his parents in 1954 and it’s challenging today. Unfortunately, we live in a time when what is “true” today might not be true tomorrow, Slater said — but in that case, it wasn’t truth at all.
“What is your truth? What defines your why? What gives you purpose?” Slater asked. “Until you answer that question without a doubt, you haven’t started living life yet. When you can answer that, you can be intentional about what you’re doing and purposeful in all your pursuits.”
Slater joined the New England Patriots in 2008, a year after their Super Bowl championship. He had never played for a winning organization before. He encountered players who were purposeful, intentional, and passionate about what they were doing. The team was always bigger than the individual, he said.
“The second thing that locker room taught me was the power of community,” Slater said. “It wasn’t just a transactional relationship. I understood that Devin McCourty next to me had a wife and three kids that he was trying to take care of. I understood that Tom Brady next to me had a family that he was trying to support and sisters at home. I understood everyone’s story and they understood mine, and as a result, we had a real community.”
Dr. King’s vision was that his children might one day live in community with white children. Though he had no evidence that his dream would ever come to pass, he acted on it anyway. It’s important for all of us, especially the young, to never stop dreaming, Slater said.
“Dr. King also understood that there was uniqueness within every human being, that God intentionally made us to be different,” Slater said. “Unfortunately, because of the climate that we live here in America, many people believe that you can only experience unity when there’s commonality. That’s not biblical; that’s not truth. We were made different for a reason, and we really experience unity where we can embrace our differences and find common ground.”
“It’s OK to be different,” Slater said. “It’s OK to be who God made you to be. And it’s OK that the person next to you is different, believes different, thinks different, talks different, looks different. That’s OK, and that’s something that we need to lean into as followers of Christ.”
Following the address, Slater answered questions from the audience facilitated by Harold Starks ’86, associate athletic director for diversity, equity, and inclusion. In response to a question about whether he had ever felt unseen or unheard, Slater said he was the only Black student in his class from kindergarten through 12th grade in Orange County, California, where his family moved so his father could play for the Los Angeles Rams.
“My parents … never let the negative experience that they had around race impact the views that they had toward white folks, Asian folks, Hispanic folks,” Slater said. “Hey, humanity is broken and that’s why we need the Lord. People are going to mess up. You’re going to mess up. Keep extending grace and keep trying to find that common ground.”
The 2025 Vision Awards were presented to:
Bilal Dixon ’12 was a member of the men’s basketball team and a professional athlete. He is the owner and founder of 42 Dixon Enterprises LLC, where he inspires and empowers youth to create brighter futures. As the dean of students, athletic director, and head basketball coach at Uncommon Collegiate Charter High School in Brooklyn, New York, he is a dedicated advocate for academic excellence, community engagement, and fostering a culture of empathy and understanding.
Daleth Rodriguez ’27, from Springfield, Massachusetts, is passionate about social justice and human rights. As a student worker in the Public and Community Service Studies Department, she supports its mission and engages with the local community. She speaks thoughtfully on complex issues, bridging divides with empathy. She will be the student leader for an upcoming service trip to Mexico and work with migrant communities. At PC, she is reviving the Providence Immigrant Rights Coalition, a student advocacy club.
Mouhamed Thiam ’25, from Woonsocket, Rhode Island, strives to ensure a sense of belonging at PC, especially among students from diverse cultures and backgrounds. He is an orientation leader who creates a welcoming environment for first-year students, executive treasurer of the Board of Multicultural Student Affairs, and a member of the Diversity Committee of the Board of Programmers, where he helps to create events that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. He also planned an event that supports students struggling with mental health challenges.
