“font-family: Verdana;”>Thirty minutes before the 26 “font-family: Verdana;”>Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Statewide Celebration Kick-Off Program was set to begin Saturday night, there was not a seat to be had in the Dr. Henry Givens Jr. Main Auditorium.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Guests were directed to the third floor balcony and then later sent to designated overflow rooms. It was a testament to the power of one man’s dream – and the legacy of another to make sure Missouri is a drum major for Dr. King.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>New Harris-Stowe State University President Dr. Albert Walker recognized president emeritus Dr. Henry Givens Jr. for his 25 years of service as host and committee chair for the event – which is the 2nd largest MLK kickoff celebration in the country, behind King’s hometown of Atlanta, Ga.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“The state of Missouri was one of those bold enough to fight to declare this day a special holiday,” Walker said. “We will carry your tradition along with us.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>The passing of the baton from Givens to Walker and new committee chair Constance G. Gully fell right in line with the evening’s theme of Strength, Sacrifice and Service: Empowering a New Generation. Leaders from throughout the state attended, including U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, state Senator Robin Wright-Jones and state Rep. Tishaura O. Jones.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Also present and honored were St. Louis natives Harry E. Johnson Sr., president and chief executive officer for the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, and Dick Gregory, the activist and entertainer who marched with Dr. King.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Many of you may not know that the man that raised the $120 million that put this on the mall is from St. Louis,” Johnson said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“What an honor it was to stand and represent not only the memorial, but St. Louis. It was here that I got everything that I needed to do to raise that money. It is the first memorial to a man of peace, a man of color and a non-president on the National Mall.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Gregory was presented with the Distinguished Chairman’s Award in addition to serving as the keynote speaker.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“It looks so easy here now, but it was vicious what we went through in this town,” Gregory said. “My first march wasn’t with Dr. King. My first march was here in St. Louis with Dr. Wheeler and the NAACP on the Board of Education – so I say, ‘Thank you, St. Louis.’”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Gregory and Johnson were honored alongside the Tyrone Thompson Institute For Non-Violence (Rev. Robert Lloyd, director), Cultural Leadership (Karen Kalish, founder), Vantage Credit Union (Hubert H. Hoosman Jr., president and CEO) and legendary singer Dennis Edwards.
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“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>When he approached the podium, Gregory was as biting and controversial as during his early days of blending wit with protest.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”> “When are we going to stop insulting the black community?” Gregory said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“You let some thugs tell you, and you go along with it. If I stole all of y’all tonight and made you work free for me, and then I look around and ask you about personal responsibility and you sucker enough to try to explain it.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>His moved from pounding criticism of the American government to using his trademark humor to illustrate his notion of unrealized power within the black community, all while pointing to Dr. King.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”> “When you leave here, don’t just take this book home and put it somewhere,” Gregory said as he pointed to the evening’s program.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“Look at this every day and think about that one person with courage can change the whole country – and he didn’t do that because he thought he was going to be on the mall. But he’s the only one on there that’s not a president and didn’t have something to do with the writing of the Constitution.”
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>He challenged the audience to honor King’s memory, contributions to the human race and his ultimate sacrifice for the freedom of others.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“We’ve got a hell of a job to do when I think of all of the black folks that take their children to Disneyland to see a rat, but have never been to King’s grave,” Gregory said.
“font-size: 9.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>“And had he not died, you wouldn’t be welcome to go see that rat. This planet changed – and it started with that brother.”
