The founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at St. Thomas, Dr. Yohuru Williams, was the emcee for the 39th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration for the state of Minnesota. The “One Dream, One Minnesota” event was held at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in St. Paul. Williams, a Distinguished University Chair and Professor of History, moderated a panel discussion and also delivered opening remarks. Here is a portion of his speech.
We are here to celebrate the life of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, but too often we focus narrowly on the man and not the movement of which he was a part. Over the course of the Civil Rights Movement, hundreds of thousands of people participated in various forms of activism to end racial injustice in the United States. Dr. King was an important source of inspiration, but that inspiration was not born of divination.
Dr. Yohuru. WilliamsDr. King was an important source of inspiration, but that inspiration was not born of divination."
Martin Luther King Jr., like so many others who made up the movement he led, was simply a dedicated soul who was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
You see, my friends, we have been conditioned to search for heroes and paragons instead of the sources of inspiration that lifted them in their pursuit of justice and equality. These sources provided them with courage, the same courage we must seek within ourselves to be leaders within the quest of what Dr. King called “the beloved community.”
This year's theme, “Bridging Legacy With Action,” is especially pertinent now. It requires us to adjust our gaze looking back to look forward as we elevate the work of those inspired by and who inspired Rev. King.
So, this year I am not going to read long excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches or memorable quotes, instead I ask us to view his life and legacy through the many people who he touched.
Many of them, like Josie Johnson, Aretha Clark King and Dr. Charles Stanley, are still with us and that’s why their stories and that’s why our history matters.
This is also why so many are so intent on preventing the teaching of substantive and challenging history. Among the greatest gift beyond knowledge and love one can bestow is inspiration.
One of the people King deeply inspired was the late Congressman John Lewis. In his pursuit of the beloved community, Lewis paid that inspiration forward and I’m not just talking about his life of service or commitment to racial justice but his acknowledgment in his final days of the importance of finding inspiration to stand up for what’s right.
One might assume that toward the close of his life John Lewis had become bitter. In his last month he lamented the dangerous and deadly situation here in the United States: persistent unjust police violence against Black Americans, the troubled response to the COVID-19 pandemic and continued efforts to erode American democratic practices at the highest levels of government.
Dr. YoHuru WilliamsAmong the greatest gift beyond knowledge and love one can bestow is inspiration."
Yet, in his final letter to the American people published posthumously in The New York Times in July of 2020, Lewis struck a hopeful and optimistic tone. His message was directed toward activists who continued to find the will to fight.
“While my time here with you has come to an end,” Lewis wrote, “I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with the hope about the next chapter of the Great American story where you used your power to make a difference in our society.”
For me Lewis’ words were Martin Luther King’s “Mountaintop” speech for a new generation.
