J a nuary 15, 1991--The Portland Observe r • • • Pa ge 17
*, n November 2,1983 a b ill lrom Congress creating a new na-
O
; tional holiday was signed into law by then. President Ronald
■Reagan. This new national holiday established January 15
as a legal public commemoration o f the birth o f Dr. M artin
Luther King, Jr. Beginning in 1986, this day is o ffic ia lly
celebrated on the third Monday o f each January.
Now, over seventeen years later, it is my pleasure and honor to be able to o ffe r
these words in this space, in recognition o f the struggle, sacrifice and successes
that Dr. K in g symbolizes in the quest o f America to make the promise and hope
o f freedom a reality for all citizens ot this great country.
In his life and in his death. Dr. King reminded us courageously, eloquently
and heroically that an unfortunate reality o f both our national past and our global
present is that the joys and benefits ol personal freedom and c iv il entitlement arc
still not possessed by all colors, classes and nationalities in equal measure. M artin
Luther K ing became a symbol and a leader in the modem day struggle to defeat
bigotry, discrim ination, oppression and racism wherever it was found in this
country or around the world.
In that struggle his prim ary legacy to us was the gentle weapon o f love and
the stainless sword ol non-violence. These were the ideals and principles that
guided his struggle against injustice. Through him we learned that the human
spirit is greater than physical violence. We learned that hope and courage are
more p ow crlu l than fear. He preached and he practiced the profound b elief that
race does not have to divide those o f good faith and high intentions. He knew and
he helped us a ll to believe that love can and w ill prevail over hate.
But as I take this moment to reflect more deeply, more completely on what
he stood fo r and what he accomplished, other things also became clear that s till
have profound meaning in the circumstances and situations we now struggle
through w ithout his physical and spiritual presence to aid our quest.
He understood that those who have sought to oppress right and dethrone
justice do not rely on any one single weapon to impose subjugation, but instead
have brought to bare a veritable arsenal o f weapons an strategies to accomplish
those ends.
The assault has targeted both the body and the mind, ranging from the
fabrication o f negative racial and cultural stereotypes (which continue to dom i
nate public media and communication) to the physical terrors o f old style southern
justice, lynch law and night-riding, which has not yet completely disappeared
from our streets or countrysides even these many years after K in g ’ s great
crusades.
M artin Luther King understood that the only logical way to respond to such
a perverse and diverse attack on human rights and aspirations, was to be resource
ful and m ultidim ensional in our own turn; to be strong; to be smart; and most o f
all to be comforted in the righteousness o f the task ahead. K ing knew, as we now
must also know , that repression must never be accepted w ithout resistance. That
w hile a ll have a contribution to make, it is not necessary nor desirable fo r every
one to fig h t the same battle or use the same weapons in their opposition. It is the
unity o f opposition that matters and not an a rtificial u nifo rm ity o f strategy or
approach that must materialize.
M artin Luther K ing knew; just as Frederick Douglass had known; just as Har
rie t Tubman, and W .E.B. DuBois and Carter G. Woodson had known, that the
struggle is for control o f the mind as w ell as o f the body. An in our double-barreled
battle our truest unity and greatest strength is our fig h t against a common foe -
racism, and not in all using the same tactics or advocating the same philosophy.
K in g ’s continuing lesson fo r me and his lasting legacy to our struggle today
should be a determination never to be deterred by the proclamations from those who
oppose what we so rig h tfu lly seek.
K in g ’ s continuing inspiration to me and I hope to all the youth o f today, is to
never let those who oppose and resist the progress o f right and the growth o f racial
justice, define either our personal goals or our collective objectives.
1, you, we can and w ill achieve all that we conceive i f we keep a clear and un
flinch ing picture before us. We must seek what is ju s tly and rig h tfu lly due in this
generation from society as a consequence the great wrongs and injustices perpe
trated in earlier generations upon a helpless underclass, but we must also under
stand the requirements and demands upon each o f us as individuals w ith free w ill
and personal responsibility fo r success or failure in this present generation.
In addition to what is legitim ately owed to us, we also each and every one o f
us, owe ourselves something as well. In earlier generations, African-Am ericans and
others had to struggle daily and very personally w ith the d ifficu ltie s, inconven
iences, injustices and often outright horrors o f a society comm itted to the privileges
o f one race and class, and the suppression o f all others. Thanks to champions like
the man we honor today, M artin Luther K ing, African-Am ericans in this country
now enjoy rights and opportunities that even the most optim istic o f our predeces
sors would find hard to conceive. This transformation was not accidental nor coin
cidental. It was created by K ing and m any, many others just as brave, just as w illin g ,
but now unknown and unnamed. Fortunes, careers, not infrequently even lives were
the price o f those victories. We now owe it to those known and unknown
benefactors to succeed w ith or w ithout the help o f others or the arrival o f those
reparations rig h tly due.
Excuses, however ju stifie d , arc a poor replacement for high self-expectations.
However im perfect our present circumstances may be, they hold far more possibili
ties than any ever before fo r A frican-Am ericans w illin g to w orld hard to succeed.
We cannot afford to squat behind complaints and accusations, regardless o f
how valid they m ight s till be - or we w ill pay a terrible social and economic cost.
That cost is the threat o f becoming obsolete. That cost is becoming inconsequen
tial and being left out o f the future w orld. We must choose success instead. Let
success, in education, in business, in politics and in spiritual fu lfillm e n t, be our big
gest and best testimonial to the life and sacrifice o f M artin Luther King and all those
who struggled before him to create these opportunities we enjoy.
Let that success in their names be our gifts o f honor to ourselves and to the
country. The country that has always needed us, to fig ht in its wars, to raise itscrops,
to rear its children - needs us now as well. Our shared racial past has given a par
ticular segment o f society an “ inherited” and “ unfa ir” headstart over other popu
lation segments. The historic unfairness o f the headstart creates social tensions and
conflicts that prevent the country co llectively from utilizing the fu ll potential o f its
human resources, skills and talents for growth and progress. It is thus hampered and
handicapped in com petition w ith other countries more able to focus e fficien tly the
fu ll power and talent o f their national resources on economic or other problems. I f
this country slips behind we slip behind, too.
David Nero
It is in all our interests to forge a future in which the dream o f K in g “ ...that
my four little children w ill one day live in a nation where they w ill not be judged
by the color o f their skin but by the content o f their character...” includes a reality
that not only their character but their skills and talents as w ell w ill be recognized
and utilized fo r the common good.
In the last m ajor sermon that King delivered only days before his assassina
tion, he spoke o f how he wanted to be remembered should it pass that he not be
able like Moses to enter the Promised Land w ith his people. He said; “ I d o n ’ t want
a long funeral. And i f you get somebody to deliver my eulogy, tell them not to talk
too lon g...I’d like somebody to mention that day, M artin Luther King, Jr., tried to
give his life serving others. I ’d like for somebody to say that day that M a rtin L u
ther K ing, Jr. tried to love somebody...”
Let us use his memory and the lasting eloquence o f his lifelo ng struggle fo r
justice and love to ignite our own fire and passion in pursuit o f those goals. L e t
us use his vision o f peace and non-violence to rededicate ourselves and this
country to make the ideals o f our founding renewed and newly true - -One nation
under God w ith liberty and justice for A ll.
Quotes
“ In his own life ’s example, he symbolized what was rig ht about Am erica,
what was noblest and best, what human beings have loved unconditionally. He
was in constant pursuit o f truth, and when he discovered it, he embraced it...”
(Words o f Coretta Scott K ing, widow o f M artin Luther King at the W hite
House ceremonies making his birthday a national holiday, November 2, 1983.)
“ ...I’d like fo r somebody to mention that day that M artin Luther, Jr. tried to
give his life serving others. I ’ d like for somebody to say that day that M a rtin L u
ther K ing, Jr. tried to love somebody...I want you to say that I tried to love and
serve hum anity.” (From K in g ’s “ Drum M a jo r” sermon describing how he
wished to be remembered, - given 2 months before his assassination in 1968)
“ I have a Dream that one day this nation w ill rise up and live out the true
meaning o f its creed; “ We hold these truths to be self-evident; that a ll men are
created equal.” (From K in g ’s “ I Have a Dream speech” , W ashington, D.C.
Lincoln Monument 1963.)
“ Negroes o f the United States, fo llo w in g the people o f India, have demon
strated that non-violence is not sterile passivity, but a pow erful moral force w hich
makes fo r social transform ation.” (From K in g ’s acceptance speech o f the Nobel
Peace Prize, 1964.)
“ He taught us that only peaceful means can bring about peaceful ends, that
our goal was to create the love comm unity. America is a more democratic nation,
a more just nation, a more peaceful nation because M artin Luther K in g , Jr.
became her preeminent non-violent commander. (Words o f Coretta Scott K ing,
w itlow o f M artin Luther King, Jr. at the W hite House ceremonies m aking his
birthday a national holiday, November 2, 1983.)
I
In Memory Of Martin Luther King
Readings of His Life & Dreams
”1 believe that
unarmed
truth and un
conditional
love will have
the final
reality."
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., From his Nobel Peace Prize
Acceptance Speech, December 10,1964, Oslo, Norway
P ow ell’ s books is proud to host a
series o f presentations celebrating the
life and dreams o f the Rev. Dr. M artin
Luther King, Jr. African-American actors
from the Portland area and students
from Jefferson H igh School w ill pres
ent readings and interpretations o f King,
his life and his w ork, in his own words
and the words o f those who knew him.
The participating professional ac
tors who w ill be involved are Gregory
Donavon, George Rankins. N eil Tho
mas, and Tom m y Smith.
Gregory Donavon has performed
w ith the C olum bia Theater Company
in H o t L Baltim ore, Dead Zeke Speaks,
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’ s Nest, and
S im ply Heavenly. He was in Death and
the K in g ’ s Horseman (New Rose The
atre and the N orthwest A frik a n -A m e ri
can Ballet) and The Colored Museum
(IFC C ), and is involved w ith the Ore
gon Shakespeare Company’s produc-
tions o f The Recruiting O fficer and Our
C ountry’s Good. Donavon is also a
founding member o f The Carousel
Company-Theater for Children.
George Rankins appeared onstage
in the Portland Opera production o f
Showboat and IF C C ’s Ceremonies in
Dark Old Men. He has appeared in tele
vision commercials for U.S. Bank o f
Oregon, M utual o f Omaha, Blue Cross/
Blue Shield, Farmer’ s Insurance, and
General Motors. George “ C h ic k ”
Rankins was also a w riter, producer,
and host o f a weekly public affairs
show in KPTV.
Neal Thomas played the silent
Detective Halamer in the film Drug
store Cowboy. He also appeared in the
popular children’ s video Wee Sing in
S illy v ille . He was involved in the Port
land Opera productions o f Showboat
and Aida, as w e ll as The Colored
Museum (IFCC ) and Death and the
K in g ’ s Horseman (New Rose Theatre
and the Northwest A frikan-A m erican
Ballet)
Tom m y Smith is the A frica n -
Am erican Outreach C oordinator fo r the
Metropolitan Arts Com m ission. He has
played the lead in the musical H a ir fo r
Eugene’ s Perform er’ s A cq uisitio n
Company. Local productions include
Raisin in the Sun and The C herry O r
chard, both fo r New Rose Theatre. He
performed in O f M ice and M en and
ONe Flew Over the C uckoo’ s Nest
(Columbia Theater Company) and Death
and the K in g ’s Horseman (N ew Rose).
Other appearances include Hom eland,
for IFCC, and the upcoming IFC C
production o f Carry On, Dear Blood,an
original w ork by South A frica n exile
Run Vzel.
Monday, January 21, at 2 pm , A t
Pow ell’ s Books, 10th & W Burnside.
I - MWilBSI
Join us Monday, January
21st, in celebrating
vv
The Dream"
ab
Food Front
C O O l’ l: RA7IVIS G ltO C IsK Y
Open to All 9am Io 9pm Daily
NW Thurman at 23rd Place 222-5650
Tri-Met Bus Routes 15 and 17
A percentage of our day's sales will be donated
to Portland's Saturday School
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