Martin Luther King Day Celebration

Beverley J. Pitts
January 21, 2008

Let me welcome you to the University's celebration of the life and work of one of America's most important, influential, and iconic figures, the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I hope all of you here today share that assessment.

As we know, it's all too easy for many Americans to think of this day as one for people of color, and even to dismiss this great leader's accomplishments and his legacy of nonviolent protest as a nice enough idea — but a couple of generations later, is it still really worth all the fuss?

If you find yourself thinking in that category — and, in fact, even if you don't — let me commend a YouTube music video to you.

Mavis Staples is nearly 70, and a veteran performer and civil rights advocate who has created a wonderful blues, rock, and gospel-infused album called We'll Never Turn Back. Watch her video of the song "Eyes on the Prize." In four minutes and five seconds, you'll have a very powerful reminder of just what was at stake. I have to warn you: it's difficult to watch.

The civil rights movement led by Dr. King led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, "giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public — hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores, and similar establishments," as well as "greater protection for the right to vote." Take just a moment to imagine a climate and a culture in which that sort of legislation is necessary.

Now consider why Mavis Staples chose to name her album We'll Never Turn Back.

It's easy to believe today that, while such successes in the 1960s were a good thing, such racism is pretty much a thing of the past. But Mavis Staples chose to record an album in 2007 because racism seems never to go away. Do you notice how much we still find it in the news? How fresh a story racism continues to be in our country?

Controversial radio host Don Imus, whom the Washington Post dubbed "a national symbol of intolerance," has returned to the airwaves after eight months of enforced silence following his hateful remarks at the expense of the Rutgers women's basketball team.

Another broadcaster, a woman who serves as an anchor on the Golf Channel, was just suspended for two weeks following her joking comment that Tiger Woods's fellow golfers might want to consider lynching him in a back alley. The emotional reaction to her remarks reveals a great deal about the pain that is still all too real for many Americans. And whether or not you believe racism is at the root of the failures evident in New Orleans after Katrina, the controversy itself testifies to the long-simmering resentments and suspicions.

While we certainly must celebrate our progress — after all, two candidates for the U.S. presidency are a woman and a black man — the prickly exchanges between the two camps in recent weeks demonstrate how race can continue to divide us, even forty years after the assassination of the Rev. Dr. King on that Memphis balcony.

It is so important for us to continue to honor his legacy, to keep alive his vision of freedom for every one of us. He taught that injustice must not stand, that human dignity must be acknowledged and respected, and, maybe most importantly to us today, those principles demand constant care and attention. In other words, we have to keep our eyes on the prize. We'll never turn back.