University Daily Kansan / Thursday, January 18, 1990
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Racism still is big problem, King's son says Martin Luther King III continues to fight
By Mark McHugh
Kansan staff writer
Racism is something people usually learn, and it can be eradicated by education, Martin Luther King III said Saturday in the Kansas Union Ballroom.
The son of slain civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., King spoke to a crowd of about 300 after a reception dinner. The dinner and lecture were sponsored by the Ecumenical Fellowship of Lawrence, the University of Kansas and several Lawrence businesses.
Keith Thorpe/KANSAN
Martin Luther King III speaks about racial relations in an increasingly connected world.
King, who is a county commissioner in Fulton County, Ga., and a board member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change, has been on tour this week, giving speeches in different cities.
The Rev. William A. Dulin, president of Ecumenical Fellowship Inc.,
T
he bottom line is that it does a tremendous disservice to us, and we will never catch up with Japan or anyone else as long as we deal with each other from a racial standpoint, and not as equals. We must utilize the intellectual ability of these many different ethnic groups that are here in this nation. Because of that, we should have the most superior ideals.'
said that the group had to make arrangements with King's booking agency last year to get him to speak here. He did not disclose King's speaking fee.
King said the United States was falling behind in comparison to other industrial countries morally, commercially and spiritually.
Martin Luther King III
"the bottom line is that it does a tremendous disservice to us, and we will never catch up with Japan or anyone else as long as we deal with each other from a racial standpoint, and not as equals," he said. "We must utilize the intellectual ability of these many different ethnic groups that are here in this nation. Because of that, we should have the most superior ideals."
Prior to King's speech, other leaders from the Lawrence community spoke. Among them were State Sen Wint Winter Jr., R-Lawrence; Nancy Hiebert, 1st District Commissioner; and Dulin.
Winter said that racial justice was a part of Kansas history.
"Here in Kansas and in this community, we were founded on the same struggle for freedom and justice our ancestors in Kansas," he said.
King said this country needed to evaluate itself to continue in the movement his father started.
"Morally and spiritually, this nation is not going in the right direction." he said.
King said that part of the moral degradation of the United States was because of the way children were raised.
"Racism is basically taught," he said.
Margaret Williams, of Lawrence, said this was the first time she had heard King's son in person.
She said that young Black people today weren't taught enough about the importance of Black history.
"They're just not interested," she said. "I don't think they know enough about Black history. I'm not saying all of them. I'm sure some of them are."
"There is some racial tension here," she said. "And I think a lot of it is caused by the fact that people don't do things together; they do things separately. It all comes down to really communicating."
Barbara Ballard, director of the Women's Resource Center, said if people communicated among themselves, it could help decrease tensions caused by racism at KU.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
Professor urges recognition of Martin Luther King holiday
By Mark McHugh
Kansan staff writer
While schoolchildren and city employees went about their routine Monday, others recognized the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
James Boyer, professor of curriculum and American ethnic studies, spoke to a crowd of about 150 at the First Regular Missionary Baptist Church, 1646 Vermont St.
Boyer said that much of coping with racism would be educating children and that all public school students should have had the day off to recognize King's birthday.
People must consolidate against discrimination for equality, Boyer says
"I'm impressed with this congregation. I'm impressed with the community of Lawrence coming together and solidifying the commitment that Martin left us," he said. "But there's one shortcoming. I don't see the children. I don't know if they turned out of school today, but if they didn't, somebody tell them next year, 'turn out of school.'" he said.
Boyer said people needed to recognize the importance of King's birthday.
"This is not a time for 'business-as-usual.' This is a time for recommitment. This is a time for saying 'I will,' not 'I won't,'" he said.
Boyer said that although King was a theologian, he studied issues affecting the human race.
"He was, he and foremost, a preacher of the gospel," Boyer said. "He was concerned about the hereafter, while at the same times, he was concerned about the now."
Boyer also said people needed more than just education to conquer obstacles in life. He said they needed spirituality.
"In all the struggles, you've got to have something to sustain you," he said. "There needs to be a spiritual meditation. There's got to be an individual to pull it all together. There's not enough knowledge. There's not
enough materialism to sustain."
Boyer said that when he was a boy, his community was pushed by King to apply selective buying campaigns. The philosophy behind selective buying campaigns, he said, was that people should not patronize businesses that practiced discriminatory hiring
"Martin came to town and told us, 'Don't shop where you can't work,'" he said. "So the Black people in my neighborhood decided to not go to Winn-Dixie this weekend. And in one weekend, that grocery store lost $30,000. "The butcher turned Black."
People must consolidate for racial discrimination for equality to become a reality, Bover said.
"I don't care how much you get or how far you go. There must be an effort," he said.
"The Blacks, the whites, the Native Americans, the Hispanics, men, women, boys and girls. That's the only way Martin would have
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King's goals, however, still face problems today, he said. And one of the biggest problems is a nonchalant attitude toward violence and violent behavior. This does not agree with King's teachings, he said.
"Then I began to look at Kansas — 9.5 babies per thousand die from infant mortality," he said. "And 14.5 percent of the children in poverty by government standards. That's at the bottom of the impoverished level."
"I'm concerned because Martin's dream being brought to reality has obstacles," he said. "Every day 135,000 children in these United States bring guns to school. That's why I want the children here — because Martin was a patron of nonviolence."
"And then I look around again, and the median family income for white Americans in Kansas is $2,274, but for Black Americans, it's $18,989 — that's almost less than half," he said. "I was a student when he was assassinated, and I made a complete change with my career.
"I changed that day — April 4th, 1968. I redirected my energies toward the principles to which he gave his life. So I say that white people, Black people, Native American people, everybody benefitted from Martin's life and work."
Rev. Charles Kennybrew, committee chairman for the Lawrence Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, said he wanted to see more community activism in making the day a holiday for city and county employees.
"I would like to see the county, city and all concerned persons come together to see if we can come up with a proposal to help everybody in the county celebrate this date," he said.
However, city officials said it would cost Lawrence thousands of dollars to make King's birthday a paid holiday.
The audience in the Kansas Union Ballroom joins hands to sing "We Shall Overcome" as part of the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, after listening to Martin Luther King III speak.
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