The dream lives on but the struggle continues

Community holds tributes on the birthday of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

By: David Campbell
   Overt racial discrimination may be a thing of the past, but the gap between rich and poor is growing, according to state Public Defender Yvonne Smith Segars, who delivered the keynote address Monday at Princeton University’s annual commemoration of the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
   "What Dr. King taught is that equality and justice are the heart and soul of the American Dream," said Ms. Segars during the university’s annual King Day celebration, held in Richardson Auditorium of Alexander Hall on the university campus.
   She described the slain champion of civil rights as "a towering symbol" for nonviolent struggle, and a man who "shepherded this nation through treacherous tides toward freedom." His dream of human equality today "burns like an eternal flame," she said.
   "Dr. King had the power and the passion to set us all in the right direction," the state public defender said.
   But Ms. Segars said the journey is far from over. She said that if Dr. King were alive today to witness what she said was a growing economic disparity between rich and poor, and the disproportionate number of people of color who are incarcerated, she said he would recognize that "something is awry."
   She said that while overt signs of discrimination by race may have been torn down since his generation, economic well-being and educational opportunities are becoming harder to come by for the nation’s underprivileged, including people of color. She said that not since the Depression have so few held such a disproportionately large piece of the economic pie.
   "We need to reach out and help others in need," Ms. Segars said. "We need to look around in our own communities. If we come upon someone who needs immediate help, we must help immediately."
   University President Shirley M. Tilghman said at Monday’s event that Dr. King "urged us to see our brothers and sisters in every human being.
   "He did not retreat or meet violence with violence," Dr. Tilghman said. "All of us have an obligation to continue the journey on which Dr. King embarked with so much courage and faith."
   Also during the King Day celebration, Dr. Tilghman presented Robert Durkee, university vice president and secretary and a 1969 alumnus, and university junior Dylan Tatz with the university’s first-ever Martin Luther King Day Journey Awards. The awards recognize members of the university faculty, staff or student body who best exemplify Dr. King’s lasting legacy.
   Monday’s event also featured musical performances by CASYM Steel Orchestra, and the presentation of awards to essay, poster and video contest winners from area schools (see box below).
   This year, 300 students from 19 schools submitted essays or videos, and almost 250 students from eight schools submitted posters. The contests for area schoolchildren were intended to commemorate the continuing impact and journey of Dr. King’s work, the university said.
   Students in grades 7 through 12 were invited to submit original essays or video presentations describing journeys in their own lives and how they may relate to the journey Dr. King undertook during the civil rights movement.
   Fourth- through sixth-graders were invited to create posters depicting or symbolizing a personal journey the student has completed or is undertaking, and how it relates to the goals and lessons of Dr. King’s journey to improve civil and human rights, the university said.
   Dr. Tilghman described the students’ creative offerings as "compelling words and compelling images."