Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King's life
On Jan. 12 MUSC students, faculty and staff gathered at the corner of
Calhoun Street and Rutledge Avenue to pay tribute to the memory of
civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A procession took place
and concluded at the MUSC Basic Science Building where an hour-ling
program took place.
More than 60 people
marched down Ashley Avenue on Jan. 12 as part of a campus candlelight
vigil recognizing MLK Day.
The Rev. Charles
Ryan directs the MUSC gospel choir in the musical tribute to Rosa
Parks. Following are remarks that were given during the Thursday evening Martin Luther King program.
by VaShondra Richmond,
Multicultural Student Advisory Board, College of Medicine
Today, I consider it a privilege to join you in celebrating and commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who overflowed with love and kindness. Today, as is done on many days throughout the month of January in institutions, cities, states, and nations around the world each year, we gather to pay tribute to a man who, as the youngest of the young or the oldest of the old will tell you, “Had A Dream.” Well, that surely sounds simple enough, but then so did our theme: Mobilizing the Dream, Inspiring Change, and Encouraging Unity, when I so joyously accepted the invitation to join this panel of illustrious students. But as I began to ponder the subject and reflections that I might share, I found myself grappling (even well into today) in search of the depth of this dream.
So, I asked myself: What is the definition of a dream? Webster’s Dictionary defines the act of dreaming as “a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep” and later as “indulgence in daydreams or fantasies.” Well, there are two things I know for sure: Dr. King was not sleeping when he had his dream, and he surely did not think of his dream as a fantasy. For, as Jesse Jackson stated in an afterward, “Dr. King was no idle dreamer. He was first and foremost a man of action.”
I then began to wonder, what really was Dr. King’s dream? Many of us assume that the dream was only to end racial segregation along the color lines of black and white. Some of us remember his quest for equality but still often reason that it was simply on behalf of black people. However, what we tend to forget is that Dr. King’s dream was a dream of freedom and justice for all people. And, it was a dream that he would not allow to remain as such, for Dr. King envisioned a democracy of inclusion.
He stood firm on two truths: 1) God’s Law-to love everybody and hate no one and 2) our nations own declaration that all men are created equal. Thus, he dedicated himself to enabling others who couldn’t and/or wouldn’t to see, accept, and exercise those same laws which they so patriotically upheld as moral truths that should be applied to all. He knew, too, that such a task would not be an easy one. As a matter of fact, he knew that it would require great changes; you know the kind that rarely come from the top down but are more effective from the bottom up. So his goal was to empower average citizens by reminding them of their own great self-worth and their right to civil liberties see, Dr. King knew that if average citizens stood up and used their collective power they could change an entire nation. So, when Dr. King marched in Birmingham, Selma, Washington, Chicago and the dozens of other cities of our great nation, he marched not only for blacks but also for Whites, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans alike. He marched to heal our nation. He marched to heal our world.
His was a dream to end poverty around the world, to make homelessness a thing of the past, to feed the hungry worldwide, to provide integrated and quality education for all, and to instill peace in every nation. Dr. King’s dream was a selfless and multifaceted dream and common to much of mankind, for it was a dream that reflected the lives of many. Thus, many came to embrace the dream, many would willingly lend their support to the dream, and together and by their example, they inspired change. So you see, what made Dr. King’s dream so special was that it was not and is not just a dream. It was not and is not just his dream. It was not and is not just an American dream. It was and is a human dream.
On such days as this, it’s only natural for us to take stock of this human dream. We tend to ask: Has the dream been forgotten? What is the current state of the dream? Has the dream been fulfilled? Dr. King himself acknowledged the existence of unfulfilled dreams, yet to him it mattered not that they were unfinished, for he only hoped that someone would say, “He may not have reached the highest heights, he may not have realized all of his dreams, but he tried.”
In 1967, Dr. King himself took an assessment to see how far we as a people had come in order to answer the question: “Where do we go from here?” In his assessment, he realized and made it clear that although progress had been made, we as a people still had a long way to go, especially if love, justice, nonviolence, and power were to be embodied by and freely given to all. In his assessment, he reported such things as: “half of all Negroes live in substandard housing, Negroes have half the income of whites, twice as many are unemployed, and the rate of infant mortality among Negroes is double that of whites.” Additionally, he reported that “Negroes lag one to three years behind whites and their segregated schools receive substantially less money per student than the white schools.” He asked, “Why are there forty million poor people in America?” And his conclusion was that as a people, we should remain dissatisfied.
He urged:
“Let us be dissatisfied until the tragic walls that separate the outer city of wealth and comfort from the inner city of poverty and despair shall be crushed by the battering rams of the forces of justice.
Let us be dissatisfied until those who live on the outskirts of hope are brought into the metropolis of daily security.
Let us be dissatisfied until slums are cast into the junk heaps of history, and every family will live in a decent, sanitary home.
Let us be dissatisfied until the dark yesterdays of segregated schools will be transformed into bright tomorrows of quality integrated education.
Let us be dissatisfied until integration is not seen as a problem but as an opportunity to participate in the beauty of diversity.
Let us be dissatisfied, until men will recognize that out of one blood God made all men to dwell upon the face of the earth.
Let us be dissatisfied until that day when nobody will shout, “White Power!” when nobody will shout “Black Power!” but everybody will talk about God’s power and human power.”
And so as we look at our world today, where hunger and homelessness persist, where the continued existence of poverty has been made vivid, and education is still poor in quality and unequal for many, I urge you, too, to be dissatisfied. For, “although slavery, segregation, and exclusion from the political mainstream are things of the past, the dream that Dr. King spoke of in 1963 has yet to be realized.” But then I ask, are we trying to realize it?
Many wonder why the ills of racism continue to surface in our progressive society. In my opinion, the answer lies in this unfinished, unfulfilled dream. For, as Jesse Jackson suggested, if you simply replace the word “Negro” with “African Americans” or “the poor”, the assessments that Dr. King made in 1967 might sound a bit too similar to the statistics of our world today. Therefore, although many things have changed, evidence shows that many things also remain the same.
Yesterday, the task at hand was called a battle or quest for freedom. Today, the task at hand is more appropriately called the battle or quest for diversity, and this quest is one that is occurring nationwide, statewide, citywide, and indeed campuswide. In short, in my opinion, it’s the same battle, but it exists under the auspices of a different name and perhaps with an ever-expanding constituency. Yet and still, this battle poses an opportunity…an opportunity to finish the dream, and an opportunity to make real that democracy of inclusion. However as we go forth with this new battle, I caution, as Dr. King did, that “gradualism and directionless spontaneity will simply generate social turmoil both for the deprived and the privileged.” Additionally, I hope that we will realize two things: 1) Unity is not uniformity and 2) diverse does not mean separate.
The completion of Dr. King’s dream will require the participation of every individual. So I hope that you are willing, for as Dr. King reminds us, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”And so I ask you, what is your dream? Is it a dream filled with only personal pursuits and successes, or is it one that involves doing for others and being of public service to humanity?
In encouraging you, too, to dream, I’d like to share with you a poem by a little girl named Lora entitled “Black Child” (I replaced “black child” with “Any child” in my version).
You, any child (Black Child) can be a preacher for God
You, any child (Black Child) can be strong and smart
You are any child (a Black Child)
Beautiful and clean
I am any child (a Black Child) with an American Dream
This any child (Black Child) comes down from a line of educators
This any child (Black Child) knows she can make it
This any child (Black Child) has beautiful skin
And a house and a room and a bed to sleep in
This any child (Black Child) has a dream to achieve
Becoming someone important that the world would love to receive
This any child (Black Child) can become an evangelist
This any child (Black Child) has a long life to live
I am any child (a Black Child)
In closing, I also urge you, as Jesse Jackson did: “Don’t just admire Dr. King. Follow him. Don’t just remember him one day of the year. Let your actions honor him everyday of the year. Do justice. Love mercy…it is our responsibility to keep his spirit alive, to live our lives to the fullest, and be guided by something bigger than ourselves.” Lastly, I urge you to be mobilized by and mobilize the dream, be inspired and inspire change, and participate in and encourage unity.
by Anandakumar Shunmugavel,
President MUSC Graduate Student Association, College of Graduate Studies
A famous man in American history; a man who helped make the United States of America great. That is what we know about Dr. Martin Luther King in India. But there’s are more to the history books.
A few weeks ago, I was asked to be part of this panel discussion to reflect on the life and works of Dr. King. How was his dream mobilized? How did he inspire change? How did he encourage unity? I readily accepted this offer.
It became imperative that I take time to learn more about this noble man, Dr. King. I began my research. To my surprise, I found hundreds and hundreds of Google sites about Dr. King and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement. Of course, I studied some of them.
The names of famous African Americans such as Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Clarence Thomas, Jessie Jackson and Oprah Winfrey were names that stood out from these pages. I also saw the name of the father of my own nation, Mahatma Gandhi.
I found that Dr. King and Gandhi had met and that Dr. King had studied Gandhi’s principles of nonviolent persuasion, which is popularly known throughout the world as “Satyagraha.” I was very pleased to learn that Dr. King decided to use Gandhi’s protest methods to implement social change in the U.S.
Who would have thought that Dr. King and Gandhi shared the same ideals and goals.
Gandhi lived for more than 20 years in South Africa. There, he protested against race discrimination. Gandhi developed his principles of non-violent persuasion to help end prejudice and achieve equality for people of all races.
Both Dr. King and Gandhi were great scholars and leaders of the world. Both dedicated their lives to the cause of equality. Dr. King adopted the non-violent protest techniques of Gandhi to organize marches, write letters and publish articles. He encouraged community meetings and boycotts. Most of all he protested.
The protests and marches often led to arrest. Whenever Dr. King was arrested, his attitude, like that of Gandhi, was one of peaceful cooperation. This attitude served to inspire and encourage many people to follow Dr. King.
Dr. King was a man of peace. His dream continues to be mobilized not only across the U.S. but also throughout the world.
The Pledge of Allegiance says, “One nation...indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” Only you and I can make this a fact of life.
We must never forget Dr. King’s dedication to his “dream,” the dream of a country which respects and has tolerance for all people. His message and that of Gandhi continues to inspire change in our world. It is now our responsibility to continue the dream because we are the future.
by Alex Whitley,
MUSC SGA President, College of Medicine
At the Victory Junction Gang Camp this summer I met a young man who was 11 years old. His name was Matthew. He just loved playing with the other kids, playing in the water, fishing, and even archery. He was also very outgoing. He would talk to anyone that would listen. At the end of the week, I concluded that Matthew made the most of his week – you might even say that he had the best time of his life. I share this story with you not because it is a feel good story, I share it with you because Matthew did everything, even things that he probably shouldn’t have. He was not silent he didn’t let anything keep him from having the best time.
What I haven’t told you is that Matthew lost his sight because of cancer. This summer, he did not cater to his environment, his handicap, instead of opting to have a good time he chose to have the best time. I suggest to you that we don’t have to either. If we don’t like the environment we should speak up and change it no matter what or where it is.
A wise man once said “A time has come when silence is betrayal. That time is now.” I suggest that time is still now – it is our turn to speak up to change the atmosphere that still exists in the United States, in South Carolina, in Charleston, and even at MUSC. If we don’t, we leave the current legacy to the next generation.
Having said this, I think we are doing a good job at Mobilizing the Dream, Inspiring Change, and Encouraging Unity. But I also believe that, good is the worst enemy of the best. Satisfied with Good never best.
Join Dr. King on this day, in trading the safe for the significant. I’ll end with another quote from Dr. King - “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
by Cristina Reyes
OT Student, MUSC College of Health Professions
President, MUSC Alliance for Hispanic Health
As I pondered the themes of Mobilizing the Dream, Inspiring Change, and Encouraging Unity, I thought about approaches to diversity in terms of passive and active tactics. These three charges “mobilizing, inspiring, and encouraging” incite action. The scholarly online resource Wikipedia.com, lists Martin Luther King at the top of a list of a number of historical activists. Martin Luther King, a man of action, was the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and Presidential Medal of Freedom and today we celebrate his work to reform a society plagued with discrimination to transcend lines of division to create the culture we live in today where popular icons are openly celebrated regardless of race, gender, religion, age, or sexual preference.
The social tides have changed a great deal since Dr. King’s passing in 1968. And a transition from passive tolerance to active appreciation has permeated our nation, our culture, and our campus at MUSC. For the past several years, several institutions have existed at MUSC. Some of these include:
- Multicultural Student Advisory Board and Diversity Councils
- Groups available within each college for minority students
- An International Program Office committed to celebrating all cultures
- A caring and committed Office of Diversity
- Black History Month & Women’s History Month
- The remarkable Presidential Scholars where President Greenburg lectured in the fall on health care disparities
However, in the past year we have seen a number of what I consider “diversity experiments” developed since we celebrated MLK Day last year:
· Our administration hired a consultant in order to restructure our Office of Student Diversity and a search for a new Director has ensued
· Our first Interprofessional Education Day is coming in two weeks to promote collaboration and awareness between healthcare professions
· The interdisciplinary Alliance for Hispanic Health is celebrating its 1 year anniversary of solidarity between students, faculty, and staff to improve health care to the Hispanic community of South Carolina
· The College of Nursing has established an Office of Hispanic Initiatives to equip students and staff to better serve our communities
· The first Hispanic-American Heritage Festival took place in the Fall through collaboration of the Alliance for Hispanic Health, International Programs, the Office of Diversity, Student Programs, and Student Government Association
· The principal deputy assistant secretary for health in the national Department of Health and Human Services, Rear Admiral Cristina Beato, was the first female speaker for the Faculty Convocation at MUSC
· The president of the National Hispanic Medical Association, Dr. Elena Rios, presented two lectures to the MUSC community regarding health care for the Hispanic community
· And lastly, our SGA President Alex Whitley was honored for his contributions to Diversity at the International Banquet in the Spring of 2005
MUSC has been marked by extraordinary progress this past year. Leadership is developing, programming is available to all, and the passion of the staff and MUSC community are overwhelming.
The challenges that face us are to engage those who are content with passive approaches to diversity. I recently heard someone say that the very nature of celebrating diversity is asking people to change, and that can be very difficult. But, I believe that MUSC has failed students who are no more culturally competent after graduation than when they began their first day of classes.
How do we do this? I suggest by continuing to build bridges across colleges, collaboration between students and administration on projects, providing relevant programming opportunities for students, adequately and creatively promoting attendance at events, and by embedding diversity issues in the classroom.
When I was evaluating graduate programs, I was initially attracted to schools that had what I considered “more diversity” than MUSC. What I have learned as a student here is that this campus and this world are as diverse as I seek. And “I am the diversity,” and you are, too.
Friday, Jan. 20, 2006
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