The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 14, 2000, Page A6, Image 6
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This Day In USC History
January 14, 1981 - “Star Trek” was shown in the
Russell House.
Page A6 HDlC 03111C CO Ck Friday, January 14,2000
A man
with
a dream
by Julie Halenar
Staff Writer
“If a man hasn’t discovered something that
he will die for, he isn’t fit to live,” Martin Luther
King Jr. said at a speech in Detroit in 1963. He
was assassinated five years later in Memphis,
Tenn. To this day, he prevails as a controversial
black civil rights leader.
King was the outstanding leader of the civil
rights movement, especially in the Montgomery
bus boycott and the Southern Christian Leader
ship Conference. From his flair for argument, he
had the edge every leader dreams of. He called
for immediate, unconditional action.
Equality was King’s goal, and it was achieved
in government, education, the workplace and so
ciety by his dedicated hands, brilliant mind, charis
matic mouth, restless legs and allegiant follow
ers.
King’s use of emotions in speeches gave a
passionate look into the African-American soul
during the 1950s, 1960s and before any measures
were taken toward having a colorless nation. The
struggles endured by young black children, civ
il rights protesters and even the old African-Amer
ican lady down the street, were going to change.
While he had opposition, it’s evident that he was
the keystone in formulating civil rights activity.
King changed America.
Jimmy Carter said'he couldn’t have been
elected president had it not been for King. Robert
and John Kennedy were in regular contact with
King during movement years. Their intervention
to end King’s imprisonment during the Rich’s
protest came two weeks before the 1960 presi
dential election and arguably won JFK the elec
tion.
King influenced one of the top comics in the
;■ country, Dick Gregory, to give up the stage for
the Birmingham protests and a career in the move
ment. Even during King’s Atlanta reception, hon
oring him as a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize,
the room was integrated.
But no influence is as heartfelt as the influ
ence of a son on a father. Martin Luther King Sr.
had had a hatred of white people since childhood.
„ “But nobody helped me more than Martin Luther
King Jr.,” he said. “He helped me to rid myself
totally of hate, and just before he left and after
he left, I wrote all hate off for anybody anyway.
No man can hate and live.”
King’s career began in Montgomery, Ala.,
where black riders boycotted buses after Rosa
Parks was imprisoned for not giving her seat to
a white man, therefore violating a segregation
policy. The boycott began in 1955 and lasted
13 months, with King as the spokesman and pres
ident of the Montgomery Improvement Asso
ciation. He encouraged his followers to practice
nonviolence and extend courtesy to opponents
in the protest. A Supreme Court decision in 1956
to desegregate buses landed King a win toward
equality, as well as popularity among citizens.
King became the president of the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference in January 1957.
The interracial group was composed mostly of
ministers who were also leaders in the civil rights
movement;
To the SCLC staff, King was the civil rights
movement. But decisions and opposing opinions
brought on lengthy discussions by the staff. King
and the SCLC were successful in many cam
paigns. They were debatably more powerful and
productive than the NAACP is today.
Other protests, like the Nashville sit-ins in
1959, used King’s philosophies as an example,
confirming his reign as the standout leader of the
civil rights movement. The protests also drew on
rules King had enforced during the Montgomery
Bus Boycott
Criticisms ot King were plentirul, but only
prove that his eveiy step was imperative to blacks’
succeeding in the battle for equality. Many thought
that his leadership role in the civil rights move
ment should have gotten him on the bus during
the Freedom Rides despite his probation.
King’s words-changed the tolerance and tone
of the United States and gave a whole new mean
ing to the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you
would have others do unto you.”
King’s “I Have a Dream” speech was the main
attraction for a crowd of more than 200,000 peo
ple during the March on Washington in 1963.
The march was to generate support for the Civ
il Rights Act of 1964 and get more support for
the civil rights movement. Repetition weaves
through the dynamic speech, including the crit
ical phrases “We can never be satisfied,” “I have
a dream,” “Let freedom ring” and the “togeth
er” promise. King describes African Americans
as “crippled by the manacles of segregation and
the chains of discrimination.” He had a goal to
“transform the jangling discords of our nation in
to a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.” A strong
appeal for hope states that"... little black boys
and black girls will be able to join hands with lit
tle white boys and white girls and walk togeth
er as sisters and brothers.”
Eight clergymen sparked a response from
King in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” which
was written while he was confined over Easter
weekend in 1963.
To explain his reasoning for the civil rights
movement, King uses an analogy. “Like a boil
that can never be cured so long as it is covered
up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the
natural medicines of air and light, injustice must
be exposed, with all the tension its exposure cre
ates, to the light of human conscience and the air
of national opinion before it can be cured,” he
wrote.
King was ambushed with criticism; howev
er, his words and actions never stopped. His words
were passionate, original and real until his death,
until his words ended up killing him. Equality
was his “something” to die for. King was warned
by many friends of the consequences of being a
leader of the civil rights movement.
King’s assassination caused the civil rights
movement to suffer greatly.
Ralph David Abernathy remembers when the
shot hit King and an associate’s walk-in reaction.
“Rev. Young came up and saw: ‘Oh, my God, my
God, it’s all over, it’s all over.’”
use Day of Service !
USC will hold a Day of Service on Mon
day to honor Martin Luther King Jr.
9 a.m. Registration, second floor lobby
of the Russell House.
9:30 a.m. Rally for volunteers on Greene
Street
10 a.m. March to MLK Park in Five
Points
10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Service projects
Campus Notes
SG to hold meeting
about elections
Students interested in running for office
in the February Student Government
elections are invited to attend a pre-can
didates’ meeting at 4 p.m. Utesday in RH
203. For more information, call the Stu
dent Government office at 777-2654.
Carolina for Kids
holds Kick-Off 2000
Students interested in becoming tutors
for Carolina for Kids can sign up be
tween 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday and
Wednesday on Greene Street. For more
information, e-mail Tom Wmslow at
tom_winslow@hotmail.com.
Leadership Training
Conference to be held
The Office of Leadership Programs an
nounces the 14th annual Student Leader
ship Training Conference. The theme for
this year’s conference is “The Art of
leadership: Painting Your Pallete.” The
SLTC will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb.
5. Early registration will be accepted in
the Campus Activities Center until Jan.
21 at a cost of $20 for USC participants.
After the deadline Jan. 28, cost increases
to $25. For more information, call the
Office of leadership Programs at 777
6688.
Omicron Delta Kappa
accepts application
Omicron Delta Kappa is accepting appli
cations. Applications are available in the
Housing Office, the Student Government
Office, the Russell House Information
Desk and the Campus Activities Center.
Turn in completed applications to the
Housing Office at 1215 Blossom St. by 5 oe
p.m. Feb. 1. An information session will
be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 25 in the ODK
room of Russell House.
Engagement ring
found in Law Center
A diamond engagement ring was found
in the Law Center. For information, call
777-8117.
uscpd otters rad
class over weekend
The USC Police Department, University
Housing and Dining Services will spon
sor a Rape Aggression Defense weekend
course Jan. 22 and 23. For more infor
mation, call Officer Gaibade at 777
4215. ^
■ CORRECTIONS
In Wednesday’s issue of The Gamecock,
an article should have said that the re
sults of an internal audit of the College
of Engineering and Information Technol
ogy might be discussed at the next fiscal
meeting of the board of trustees.
Cool Savings. Low Down Prices.
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——---WE
ft EG A L
CINEMAS^