Keith Boykin recalled his days at Harvard Law School with
Barack Obama, a time when Boykin said he and fellow law
school students pushed for more diversity in the faculty
ranks at the traditionally Caucasian institution.
Sit-ins and protests, and even chasing after a dean, eventually
led to definable change, a story that was in lockstep with
the theme for Eastern Michigan University's Martin Luther
King, Jr. Celebration Jan. 18. "The Dream: [Insert Name
Here]" was this year's theme, which was a call for all
individuals to take action to forward King's dream.
 |
SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER: Keith Boykin,
the
keynote speaker for EMU's Martin Luther King,
Jr.
celebration, makes a point during the President's
MLK Luncheon Jan. 18. Boykin, a TV host, author
and editor, presented "Reaching Dr. King's Dream
in the Obama Era."
|
"Knowing the right thing is not always the same as doing
it," said Boykin, before a packed crowd in the Student
Center Auditorium. "I'm here to talk to you about the right
thing to do."
If King were alive today, Boykin stressed that the slain
civil rights leader would have become involved in the recovery
efforts in Haiti, scolded the federal government after
its sluggish response in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
and fought to wipe out poverty and AIDS.
"It is easy for us to forget that people are dying in
Haiti. It is easy for us to forget there is poverty around
the world," said Boykin, a TV host, editor and author. "I'm
here to call you out to act."
Boykin's keynote, "Reaching Dr. King's Dream in the Obama
Era", touched on "speaking truth to power," standing up
to authority and overcoming fear, and taking personal accountability.
He reminded the audience that King "was a rebel and a
rabble rouser, not the milquetoast, commodified caricature
that has been marketed as a person of peace."
Even though former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed
the Civil Rights Bill into law, King urged Johnson to withdraw
America from Vietnam.
"Some in the black community said King went too far, but
King argued that Johnson may have done good on some issues,
but needed to address the war.
"History bore out that Dr. King was right," Boykin said.
"It's not where you stand in times of comfort and convenience.
It's where you stand during times of controversy."
King took stands on social and economic justice, such
as when he went to Memphis to support sanitation workers.
Boykin sees President Obama doing the same in his efforts
to pass healthcare legislation that would provide insurance
to every American and to tax the banking system that was
largely responsible for the latest recession.
 |
WORDS OF WISDOM: House Majority Whip
James
Clyburn (D-South Carolina) discusses Dr.
King's
famous letter from the Birmingham Jail.
Clyburn
was a special guest at EMU's MLK Jr.
Day celebration. |
"We need to learn from the lesson of Dr. King and to be
concerned about more than our own people. We need to be
concerned about all peoples," Boykin said. Quoting King,
he added, "A threat to justice anywhere is a threat to
justice everywhere."
Boykin gave an abbreviated version of his keynote during
the President's MLK Luncheon, a sold-out affair that took
place in the Student Center Ballroom. House Majority Whip
James E. Clyburn (D-South Carolina), a special guest, touched
upon points in Boykin's speech about change, offering discussion
on Dr. King's famous 1963 letter from the Birmingham Jail
as a prime example.
Clyburn recalled how clergy, who had written King, said
the civil rights leader should leave Birmingham and stop
demonstrating against segregation.
"The clergy acknowledged King's cause was right, but said
his timing was not," Clyburn said.
King responded that he had yet to engage in a direct-action
campaign that was "well-timed" for those who had not suffered
segregation.
During the luncheon, a number of awards were handed out
— to young and old — who exemplify the spirit and values
of King.
Meriah Sage won the Evans-Strand Diversity Award, a $1,000
prize that recognizes an individual for significant contributions
in advancing the cause of diversity at EMU. The award is
modeled after the Nobel Peace Prize.
"I really appreciate receiving this award, but I appreciate
that you have this award to give out to students and recognize
their work," said Sage, who plans to donate a portion of
her award to a low-income school so students there can
come see Sage's play, entitled "Bud, Not Buddy".
Student Humanitarian Awards were handed out to Shetina
Jones (first place) and Orlando Bailey (second place).
"Helping others is my passion and I am grateful to God
for allowing me to do that," said Jones, who eloquently
credited her late mother with making her the young woman
she has become. "...I chose to lead. You should, too. My
success is not an accident."
Earle B. Higgins, Dennis Patrick and Eboni Zamani-Gallaher
garnered awards in the adult Humanitarian Awards category.
Higgins, an EMU graduate who played professional basketball
for the Indiana Pacers, came back to finish his degree
after his playing days and transitioned into business,
where he spent 33 years with Chrysler Corporation (now
Daimler-Chrysler) and three more with J.T. Holdings, Inc.
"I was taught early in life by my grandfather to give
back and that no one is unimportant in your life," Higgins
said.
Patrick, an EMU professor of communication, media and
theatre arts, was lauded for his progress in obtaining
rights for unmarried homosexual or lesbian partners to
adopt foster children. Currently, there are approximately
500,00 children in the U.S. foster care system, with roughly
110,000 waiting to be adopted, according to Patrick.
 |
LIVING THE DREAM: Eboni Zamani-Gallaher,
an EMU associate professor of leadership and
counseling,
poses with University
Ombudsman Greg Peoples after
receiving her
MLK Humanitarian Award. She is active
in
Girls in Action. |
"Every child deserves a good home. I ask, 'What will you
do to help those children?'" said Patrick who, with his
partner, have had 21 foster children placed in their home.
Zamani-Gallaher, an EMU professor in leadership and counseling,
is active in Girls in Action, an outreach program that
focuses on inspiring today's female youth to become tomorrow's
leaders. She described being named a humanitarian as "an
awesome and humble experience."
James Barmore, Jr., a senior at Ypsilanti High
School, "Changes Not Yet Seen"; Nicole Bell, a sophomore
at Willow Run High School, "The Dream: Nicole Bell"; and
Asia Youngblood, a sophomore at Lincoln High School, "The
Dream: Asia Youngblood," were the winners of the MLK Essay
Writing Contest.
Other luncheon highlights included a stirring rendition
of "Witness", sung by Glenda Kirkland, an EMU professor
of music and dance; a musical video of Roger Ridley's "Stand
By Me", and snippets of the CloseUP Theatre Dance Troupe's
MLK Day performance.
The University's MLK Day celebration concluded with various
academic programs and an Alpha Pi Alpha march from the
Student Center to the MLK bust near Boone Hall and back,
and an afterglow event in the Student Center. Related events
began Jan. 15.
For a snippet of Boykin's keynote speech, go to http://www.emich.edu/video/index.php?v=mlkbrief10
