On Wednesday, Jan. 20, the
message came home to UNC as the
1999 Martin Luther King Jr.
Birthday Celebration Committee
presented a lecture given by the
youngest daughter of King, the
Rev. Bernice King. Filled with the
resonance of an inspirational ser
mon and the striking resemblance
to King’s voice, Rev. Bernice King
touched the hearts of listeners and
delivered words to move the cam
pus into action.
“Unconditional Love,
Getting Up Close and Personal,
Taking Personal Responsibility.
These were the themes running
through Rev. King’s address as she
reflected on her father’s life and
brought teachings of her own expe
riences. “Racism is your problem,
were the words Rev. King had audi
ence members to repeat to their
neighbor. Rev. King drove home
the message that racism is not a
Black person’s problem or a White
person’s problem but a problem
which effects all of us and that each
of us must work to resolve.
“My father challenged us
and his legacy still challenges us to
deal with this massive problem
head on to avert grave conse
quences,” Rev. King proclaimed.
King was a man who confronted
the battle of racism by through love
that “transcended cultural and sec
tional differences.” And while the
world celebrates the birthday of
King, what are we doing to follow
in his footsteps? “It is essential to
our survival,” said Rev. King, “that
we must continue to not only cele
brate Dr. King’s birthday, but com
mit ourselves to those things he
lived and died for.”
To ever realize our true
potential as human beings living
together in harmony we must “get
up close and personal” to the real
problem we are facing, a point
emphasized by Rev. King.
“Getting up close and personal
allows us to see things as they are,
rather than assuming and prejudg
ing.” If we are to ever overcome
the detrimental effect of those
assumptions and prejudgments on
our humanity, we must not be afraid
to go beyond the surface and get
personal with one another.
As Rev. King spoke on the
importance of being able to love
one another unconditionally and the
building of personal relationships,
she also encouraged audience
members to take personal responsi
bility in the fight to overcome the
ills plaguing our society.
Challenging students in particular.
Rev. King reminded students “that
the reason we have gotten where
we are today in this society is
because of students who became
involved in the Civil Rights
Movement.” Students at UNC and
educational institutions across the
country have an obligation to stand
up, take personal responsibility and
make a personal sacrifice to end
racism and oppression. As the lead
ers of tomorrow, let us take the
message delivered by Rev. Bernice
King home to live in our hearts not
only to celebrate, but act upon for
the empowerment of our people
and the elevation of our world.