Honoring Dr. King
This past Monday in Graham Chapel Washington University held its annual event to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The event featured a prelude by the Vashon High School Drumline, the YMCA Boys’ Choir, SLAM poetry and several speeches. While many of the speeches and performances focused on King and celebrating his life, two speeches stood out for challenging and suggesting new interpretations of King’s legacy.
Professor Leslie Brown, from the history and American culture studies departments, suggested that we need to remember that, in his time, King was not accepted as a universal or revered symbol. Instead many people, including government leaders, saw him as a radical who was dangerous to the social order; J. Edgar Hoover thought King was the most dangerous man in America. She later remarked that MLK celebrations tend to focus on his success but do not address his struggle, which Brown sees as his greatest strength. “We like his hopes; we don’t like his criticisms,” she said. While Brown focused on a different interpretation of King’s life, she also complimented student speaker Pushkar Sharma for applying King’s principles to current issues.
Sharma argued that civil rights, peace and poverty issues for which King fought are still alive today in the debates over the use of the American military and gay marriage. He later said he hopes and believes that gay rights will soon become as big an issue today as the civil rights movement was in the 1960s.
While many MLK celebrations focus on King’s life and retelling the “I have a dream” speech, it is equally important to avoid isolating King as a historical artifact. As Brown said, to remember that change does not come easily, one often has to be “dangerous” as well. Sharma’s avoidance of clich‚s about “keeping the dream alive,” instead focusing on real issues facing us today, made for a refreshing and much needed message for University students and for everyone.
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