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Activists whine, forget once-nohle goals
The speakers’ words floated to the high,
vaulted dome above.
In each of the four quadrants of the ceiling,
tile mosaics of Indian chieftains and a bison
hunt watched stoically over the filled legislative
chambers.
“Martin Luther King Jr. was a great, com
passionate man who stood for the equality of all
people.” And on and on, the same words echoed
through the whole day. Dr. King condensed in
50 words or fewer - concise, frozen and dead.
Thirty-two years ago, a man died. This man
saw injustice and attacked it using the venerable
principles of nonviolent civil disobedience.
He devoted his life to bringing more love,
more compassion, to a country that was too
quick to hate him.
His words are now on a perpetual tape loop.
“I have a dream. I have a dream. I have a
dream.” The University of Nebraska-Lincoln
celebrates this man’s birth on the third Monday
of every January. A day of events, designed to
get you out of bed or to make you feel guilty if
you don’t. So you go.
What you get is a ticker tape of press releas
es; a lot of words, but no spirit. Try to find Dr.
King in these words. He’s not there. He’s dead,
and his spirit has left the building.
So when they speak of him, standing behind
the brand-new podium in the sparkling auditori
um of the Nebraska Union, the words ring hoF
low.
When they speak in the East Legislative
Room, the words reverberate with the dispas
sion of rote learning.
“Dr. King was a great and compassionate
man who stood for the equality of all people.”
In Nebraska, statisticians profess to be
activists. Minorities are underrepresented; lan
guage is not inclusive enough.
uone are tne questions ot human
rights and justice - now we hear, “I
don’t feel represented in the course
work I study,” or in prime-time
television, university policy or
whatever.
The activists are bickerers
and nay-sayers who speak
nobly but say nothing. Dr. M
King had an issue - segre- Jjglfl
gation. He had a method - *?||f
civil disobedience.
What does the NAACP :iHH|
stand for in this state any
more? What of Allies? The IHP
Afrikan People’s Union?
They offer vague definitions i ^
of institutional prejudice, to be iM
solved by programs of inclusive Ijjj
language, quotas and posters. 1
A day devoted to Martin Luther
r___ii_
J1., a mall ui me aiiu 1UVC, was :::<uhh
without either. The opening ceremony
was a religious service, filled with music
and mechanical statements. “Please rise for.”
Even the activists are inactive. Even their
stances are stale. So is it any surprise that,
across the state, teen-agers sit at their computer
screens and shrug when they hear of “injus
tice?” They don’t care. Who does? Why should
they?
Times they are a-changin’. The methods of
Dr. King are no longer applicable. Rallies are a
laughable, trivial 50 people in a photo on the
front page with a caption that begins “Despite
poor weather.”
Without the conviction of justice behind
than, the activists are lost
They profess their victimization. At a loss
for legitimate social qualms, activists balk at
insensitivity and insufficient diversity. Victims
require oppressors. But who are the oppressors?
The establishment-majority-cronies are the
accused. Against the faceless enemy, the
activists can’t fail, but he enemy consists of
people - real people.
Once, these real people felt hatred for the
oppressed and oppressed them consciously.
Rallies are a
laughable, trivial 50
people in a photo on
the front page with a
caption that begins
“Despite poor
weather.”
Now the so-called oppressors are as apathetic as
the activists who accuse them of prejudice.
Oppressors? Hardly.
They aren’t guilty of their “crimes.” They
are victimized by their alleged victims. They’re
put into a role, given expectations and stereo
typed just as they are accused of doing to the
oppressed.
Injustice results now not as a conscious
choice of people in power, but because the two
sides view each other as enemies and not as
humans. And what did Dr. King say?
Modem activists smear their enemies. They
generalize and vilify those who oppose them,
rather than accepting them and loving them.
It is a battle between the * ,
ivy Leaguers anu uie
white-haired fat cats.
Catch phrases are
the ammunition,
and the front
line is the
press.
Dr. Ki
taught tol
one’s neighb
his faith requ
His battle was peace:
his front line was the stre
Yet, in his name, on a _
activists portray themselves as downttoc
They brainstorm methods that will fix die prob
lem of “inequality:”
Dr. King never adopted this victim mentali
ty. His people may have been downtrodden, but
they held their heads high.
The movement carries his face on its ban
ners and moves its lips in die familiar hymn “We
shall overcome.” Overcome what?
Overcome this emaciation?
Someday.
Jacob Glazeski is a senior music and math major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist.
People should act to fulfill King’s dream
“I have a dream that one day this nation
will rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal.”
These are the unforgettable words of the
late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr.
According to 137 academics surveyed by
two researchers from USA Today, King’s “I
have a dream” is the greatest speech of the
20th century.
Even 32 years after his death, we still have a
long way to go to achieve racial equality for all.
His belief was that nonviolence was the
most powerful tool in the fight for racial equali
ty
We hope one day we will all be able to
stand for freedom together knowing that we
will all be free.
Then you realize that this is just a dream.
Our hope has yet to become reality.
As an international symbol of power of
protest and civil disobedience, King changed
the world through his words and deeds. He
stood up for human rights for all, and he
refused to be silenced.
The impact of King’s work and his dream
have affected people worldwide.
He empowered minorities and allowed peo
ple to envision their dreams. He taught men
and women to believe in themselves and to
believe they have civil rights. He brought about
social change in America at a time when it was
needed. He was the voice of black America.
His vision encouraged the world to strive
tor racial
harmony,
, and his
effect is
still alive
today.
However, in recent years, we have wit
nessed horrific and disturbing events such as
the Rodney King police beating, Los Angeles
riots, ethnic cleansing of Albanian Kosovars,
NATO’s bombing of Serbs, genocide in
Rwanda and Burundi, and more recently, the
fightings in Chechnya.
Too many innocent people have suffered
and lost their lives.
These devastating events illustrate just how
bad the problems of racial injustice continue to
be and prove we are still fighting against
racism and discrimination while we work for
Lincoln did a fine
job celebrating
King’s life, reaching
out especially to
young people and
keeping his dream
alive.
diversity.
Dr. King’s dream can only become a reality
if people look within themselves and recognize
the problems in our country. Personal ideolo
gies and individual belief systems need to
change. We cannot overcome racial injustice
while white supremacist groups like the Ku
Klux Klan still exist and believe in their superi
ority. We need to learn to accept all people as
they are.
We need to teach children we are all equal.
We all need to get involved in our schools
and communities to fight injustices and build
racial harmony.
We need to increase awareness throughout
the world on racial injustices and seek to under
stand the barriers we must overcome.
Ignorance must be eliminated. The prob
lems of racial injustice are not just for minori
ties, but for everyone. It is a global concern.
The economic system needs to change so
that everyone has equal opportunity and an
equal share.
We must all strive for racial harmony and
equal opportunity as King wished, and the only
way we can achieve this is to join and work
together to solve these problems.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a holiday of
remembrance, rejoicing and re-commitment
to the life and contributions of Dr.
King. The main purpose of
his day is to
“serve by a heart
of grace generat
ed by love,” by
serving the com
munity.
Americans
celebrated King’s
legacy Monday
by participating
in parades, ral
lies and volun
1 teer activities,
I such as blood
I drives, neighbor
| hood clean-ups
| and house-build
ing projects.
Lincoln did
a fine job in cel
ebrating King’s
life, reaching out
especially to
young people
and keeping his
dream alive.
$ Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr..
was one of the
ueian LonowsKi/uiN greatest ana most
influential men of
the last century. His dreams are inspiring.
I also have a dream that one day there will
be world peace and a world community of jus
tice for all. I dream that one day every man,
woman and child can live his or her dream.
The struggle for racial equality continues,
and the dream still lives on.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. paved the road
to a better way. We still have a long journey
ahead, when this nation lives out the true mean
ing of its creed and all men are treated equally.
Lesley Owusu is a junior broadcasting major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist
