A Call to Realize Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream
| * I sometim-.'s, refer t?> m\*el*
J Brown \s. Boc oj hd nation K by
Jo remind my t ot the changes !
have seen in m\ lit^nme.
) ; * Growing up in the nation's
f Cap ltol. I was scheduled to attend,
one of the segregated kindergartens
? ' of that cit>. But during the summer
| before school began, the Brown
I decision changed all of that.
? Those of use over the age of 30
? jre intense^1 aware of the chances
; jve have seen in our lifetime. We
know first-hand w hat the segregated
*orld was like. We remember what
p felt Tike nol_UL.be able to stop at a
lestaurant or' a rest room on a lofrp
automobile trip. We know what it
meant not to be able to get an\ 10b
^e wanted, despite our education or
background. We remember when
the re was no Congressional Black
/Caucus, when no maior cities had
At rican-American" mayors, indeed
; when many African Americans were
denied the right even to/vote.
1 But for young people that world
* history. It is difficult for man\ of
tjiem to understand the emotional
and physical toll "that jiving, in that
.. world took on African Americans. . I;
is hard for them t^-ima^rnlr Vhat it
to be paid at a lower wage. Thes -
cannot understand easily the stgnih
cance of the historically black col
leges -which were the On'h higher
education option for most. They
cannot imagine what it was like not %
being able to try on clothes sou
wanted to purchase or not beiqg able
to ee! a voni drink of water on a hot
?That is the real significance ot
the Dr '"VI art in Luther King Jr. holi
day It is a time fpr_nrrrr?Trrbering
and for sharing that-rn^mory~\A i'th
our > oung people and our children.
In order for them not t6 take for.
granted living wherever they want,
attending w hatever school they have
the ability and tundv to attend or
working at whatever job the\ are
qualified for. they must understand
their not-so-distant history. IF thes
are to understand the importance of
voting, thes must understand w hat it
was like when we coulda't.
But the Martin Luther King Jr.
holiday must be more than memo
ries. It must become a time of reded
lcation and revisioninp. because the
times we are living in are mdnTdan"
gerous to our survival than any time
since we arrived unwillingly on
?these shores. Our children are
killing each other. Our men jind
women, our babies are dying of
AIDS. Children 10 and 1 1 years old*
are planning their funerals. Children
are having children. Mothers,
hooked on crack, are abandoning
their babies. Fathers have given up
-any -hope ~oY johs i n their lifetime.
" Our ancestors, who. survived the -
Middle Passage, who -survived the
horrors of slavery, who survived
_Jsmhmg> and Jim Crow la\ss. cry
out to us. Martin Luther King Jr..
the champion of peace, cries out to
us.
We in the Commission for
Racialv Justice use rh i ^ occasion,
after more than a quarjer-centur> of
work, to rededicafed ourselves to
We rededicate ourselves to
work tirelessly around upbuilding
r the health and wellness of our com
on health an wellness issues.
it
As we celebrate the lite of
Martin Luther King Jr.. we in the
Commission for Racial Justice
rededicate ourselves. Ana we ask
i
you to join with us in the struggle.
Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa
Parks would demand no less.
r CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
f- By BERNICE POWELL JACKSON
continuing the struggle tor racial
justice in this countr> and the world.
M> predecessors. Dr. Charles E.
Cobb Sr. and Dr. Benjamin F.
Chavis Jr.. have le$ a rich legacy tor
-me, as I take over the helm of the
Commission and for our staff as we
begin our neu journey togetfter. We
thank them for that.
We rededicat-e ourselves to
work tirelessly*to help end the vio-,
lence which . is destroying our com
munities. We say enough. We say
enough of the violence which is
killing innocent children, which is
destroying a generation of. our
voung men We wani.io find -Way*
to enable churches and community
organizations to take back our chi-1
dr en. to steal them from death's
, grasp and to give them life and hope
? hope for a future which includes
them, "hope for the world which'
"Martin Luther King Jr. dared to
dream.
Living The Dream Pledge
In honor of Martin Luther. King
Jr.'s life and work , / pledge to do
everything that lean to make
\merica and the world a place
where equality and justice, free
dom and peace will grow and
flourish. On Jan. 15, 1990, I com
mit myself to living the dream by:
I/oving, not hating; Showing
under standing, ? mrt ? anger;
Making peace, not war.
munities. Our health care needs par
allel those of undeveloped countries.
If our young men survive the vio
lence, they face higher mortality
rates in adulthood. We face higher
incidences of cancer, heart disease,
hypertension, alcoholism and drug
addiction. Our babies are more like
ly to die. AIDS is rampant through
our communities. Toxic wastes con
tinue to be dumpa^ on our commu
nities. and we are unhealthy from
liviUvg next to these deadly chemi
cals. The Commission for Racial
Justice will work harder than ever
WINSTON
S A L K M
STATE
UNI V I RSI I V
WINSTON-SALEM
STATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1892, Winston-Salem State University is a four-year,
comprehensive undergraduate institution offering baccalaureate
degrees in more than 30 majors in four academic areas: Business
and Economics, Nursing and Allied Health, Education, and Arts
and Sciences.
? Master's degrees in business and education are available
through the WSSU Graduate Center. \
? If you have an associate degree, ask about the Bachelor of
Science in Applied Science degree program, which cah be
designed to fit your needs.
For more information, call the Admissions Office,
(919) 750-2070, or write:
Winston-Salem State University
Office of Admission^
601 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Winston-Salem, NC 27110
r
?720 Coliseum Dr. *3300 Healy Dr. *3169 Peters Creek Pkwy.
*
North Carolina ? South Carolina ? (Georgia ? Virginia ? West ^Virginia ? Florida
Me and the Preacher from Georgia
As recall, it was a rather cool
spring evening. Rut the standin^
room-onh crowd that packed Cioler
?Metropolitan A.M.E. Church made
it seem like Jul\ inside.
My father - ? in his attempt to'
expose me to as many varied expe
riences as possible ? had insisted 4
that I tag along with him.
Personally, being only a young bo\
of 9. I would much rather ha\e been
home playing with my tram set.
However, as the evening 'wore en. 1
about to happen.
The audience was predonn- *
nantly African-American, though it
seems there was a sprinkling or > ?
Caucasians present,. I n: formed and
-r (what I now realize w ere v plain'?"
clothes policemen were scattered
everywhere- After the customary
selections from the choir, the audi
ence began to stir with excited
anticipation. And though I had per
haps the best seat in the house -
the piano stool near the pulpir ? 1
was still quote oblivious to what
was happening.
The crowd arose as the master
of ceremonies introduced the speak
er of the evening. The short, well
dressed preacher from Georgia
began his speech very deliberately
but before lojig had worked himself
into a crescendo that shook not only
the walls of "Old Goler." but nearh
me as well off that piano stool!
The preacher from Georgia
rapped for a long time that evening,
but he was by no means boring.
From what I can recollect, he spoke
of "making the best out of whatever
situation you find yourself." He
stressed that "it matters not w hether
>ou are a sanitation worker or a
\our cho>en profession or job. ...
Haeh ot us has a responsibility to
our communities and ourselves to
make a contribution and to continue
the tight tor justice and equality for
ishcd opportunity to see. hear and
touch that courageous preacher
from Georgia.
Thus, as we commemorate
what would have been the 64th
birthdax of Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. and join the millions of African
GUEST COLUMNIST
/ .
all.
The preacher received a well
He servecT standing ovation that
evening. And when it was over, my
father, m his wisdom, perhaps sens
ing the historic significance of the
moment, led me to'the pOlpit to
shake the hand of this great preach
er from Georgia.
Several years passed before the
impact of that spring evening hit
me. For it was not until after the
marches on Washington and Selma.
the passage of the Civil Rights Bill,
a Nobel Peace Price, the desired
coalition with Malcolm X. the
intense struggle in Chicago, the
courageous stand against the
Vietnam War. numerous arrests,
several books, memorable quotes,
malicious smear campaigns, and
yes.- that fateful April day in
Memphis, that I could fully appreci
ate what transpired that spring,
evening at "Old Goler."
c .jr*
1 will forever be indebted to
my father for his concern and fore
sight which gave me the now-cher
Americans and people of con
science the world over celebrating
his life and legacy, let us recommit
ourseKes to the tremendous work
teft unfinished. Let us be inspired
and motivated by the fact that Dr.
King was not a "dreamer" but a
proactive visionary, who believed
as did Frederick Douglass that
"Power concedes nothing without a
demand. ... If there is no struggle,
there can be no progress. ..."
Yes. a proactive visionary who
challenged us to combat injustice
where it reared its ugly head, for
"injustice anywhere threatens jus
tice everywhere.
Yes. a proactive visionary who
admonished each of us that the
"surest way for evil to triumph is
for good folk to do nothing."
Thus, in the name of Martin
Luther King Jr. and all those who
preceded him. let us dare to chal
lenge. dare to struggle, dare to be
visionaries.
Happy Birthday, Dr. King!
BE KING FOR A DAY. : T"
/ ' r ? ?
January 17 marks- the observance of the
national holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther Khg, Jr.
What better way to celebrate his birthday
than by living his dream?
From sunup to sundown, let's all try to see each person
as a brother or sister. Look for the
ways in which we are similar, not different.
Learn something new about a different culture.
Commit ourselves to world peace.
^ _ ? ? ?
As a company dedicated to bringing the world
closer together. AT&T supports the ideals of
Martin ttrthrr Kmg, jr. On January 17, tet^atfTry living
them. Chances are, it's the only present
Dr. King would have warned.