January 20, 2005

Northwestern honors legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. through song, dance, debate and discussion

Yolanda King, eldest daughter of Dr. King, showcased her dramatic skills during the Evanston celebration as she shared stories of her father and performed the stories of ordinary people living in the civil rights era.

Stephen Anzaldi

Johnnetta Cole, president of Bennett College for Women and a Northwestern alumna, delivered an impassioned speech to the Chicago audience on the challenges of engaging today’s youth in the struggle for civil and human rights.

Stephen Anzaldi

Northwestern celebrated and remembered Martin Luther King Jr. Jan. 17 through several events on both campuses. In her Evanston keynote address, Yolanda King, eldest daughter of Dr. King, said that it was a day of deeds.

She stressed the idea of choice, saying everyone has it within them to contribute to “The Dream.”

“It doesn’t matter who or what your circumstances, you can choose. You can choose patience over impatience, action over inaction, belief over non-belief, one choice at a time,” she said. “We should take a look at our own lives and ask some tough questions. What can I do to contribute?”

Stirring musical tributes, before and after King’s dramatic performance, brought the Northwestern Community Ensemble and the Alice Millar Chapel Choir to the Pick-Staiger Concert Hall stage.

At the same time, an audience on the Chicago campus witnessed a panel discussion as participants shared their perspectives and opinions of civil rights action of the 1960s, as well as the future of the justice movement. Terri Johnson, vice president, Public Policy Reform and Advocacy, Human Relations Foundation, Jane Addams Hull House Foundation, spoke of the importance of maintaining dialogue between generations in order to ensure that we’re all having the same conversation and that we understand each other and our challenges. The panel, moderated by Carlos Watson, CNN political contributor and host of “Off Topic With Carlos Watson,” also included Alysia Tate, editor, Chicago Reporter; Larry Marshall, professor of law and director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions; Ramona Rodriguez, M.D., medical director for Logan Square Health Center; and Chuck Smith, artistic associate, Goodman Theatre.

The Medill School of Journalism’s Crain Lecture featured a talk on the future of the black press, featuring Angelo Henderson, associate editor of Real Times and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist while at The Wall Street Journal, and Roland Martin, executive editor of the Chicago Defender. Medill Dean Loren Ghiglione moderated the discussion as participants debated the challenges facing a black publication like the Defender, such as maximizing and improving content on a limited budget. Martin spoke of the importance of understanding the business side of the news business when he revealed the paper will soon offer a books section. When questioned by Ghiglione as to the business sense of such a move, Martin noted that, with statistics showing that African Americans are now reading books more than ever, the Defender has the chance to attract new and different readers with book news and reviews.

The day ended with an evening appearance by Johnnetta Cole, president of Bennett College for Women and Northwestern alumna. Cole discussed the issue of engaging today’s youth in the ideals for which Dr. King stood. Carlos Watson interviewed Cole, as they touched on overcoming apathy in society, affirmative action, women’s rights and the need for everyone to participate in raising the children in their community.

Cole called for people to do what they could to engage young people in the cause. “Believe change is possible,” she said. “Vote for people on local school boards committed to diversity and equality; respect teachers and pay them well; and take on positive mentoring relationships in the community.”

The talk was preceded by a video presentation by The HistoryMakers, an oral history archive dedicated to preserving African American history.

To hear Yolanda King’s complete performance, go to www.northwestern.edu/shared/cms/bin/speaker/2005/01/king.mov