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MLK celebration addresses lack of leaders

A guest speaker for the "Martin Luther King Millennium Celebration" reminded UA and Tucson community members Friday afternoon about the need for new, strong leaders to preserve King's legacy and how America's leaders are lacking.

"A few people can do a lot but a few require planning," said Russell Adams, chair of Afro-American studies at Howard University of Washington, D.C.

"Politics, social change and competition are not exempt from the next generation - they will have more exposure to these things," Adams said to about 60 people.

Sitting shoulder to shoulder in a conference room in the Hillel Foundation, many of varying ethnicity, attendees responded with nods of approval and muffled utterances of agreement as Adams spoke about King's legacy, some of America's historical racial issues, and future resolutions to racial problems.

Adams' speech ignited some conversation about the King's legacy - whether it needs to be reinstated or refreshed.

"I don't think the legacy is dying down, because throughout the years communication between races has progressed," said Stacie Hayes, communication junior. "Races are getting along with each other and different organizations are helping each other out but it's not progressing fast enough."

Presented by the University of Arizona African American Student Affairs Center, the celebration was in honor of the Rev. King's birthday. King, who would have been 71 years old Saturday, was assassinated April 5, 1968.

"Think of Martin Luther King, Jr. and focus on the issues and think of the legacy," said Saundra Taylor, vice president of Campus Life. "There are only two leaders honored for their birth date - Martin is the only black leader honored."

Taylor, who added that King's message urged all citizens to abolish racism, classicism, sexism, poverty, hate crimes and hate messages, said the UA STOP HATE campaign was a symbol of that message.

The STOP HATE campaign - established by the Department of Multicultural Programs and Services - was a response to hate crimes on the UA campus. The campaign undertook its first journey as buttons celebrating UA's diversity were passed out during the speech.

Adams spoke of group reactions America needs in the march towards stronger racial equality - such as the response made by DMPS - one that will be directed by a strong team of leaders.

"Relationships are built on activity not auditory - you do not learn about each other from learning the speech," he said.

Adams, who compared American political conversation to the Tower of Babel, also said today's youth lack a fire that was forever present in the hearts of many civil rights activists in the 1960s.

"The leadership that the church provided is disappearing with the (older) folks that give it, and the young folks aren't taking their place," he said after the speech. "There is no place to be organized other than the school or church - a place of moral responsibility - not on the corner barbershop and beauty parlor."

However, not all agreed with Adams' statement that the youth are not prepared to take on such an empowering leadership role.

Quraysh Ali Lansana, poet and author, said he believes there are individual group leaders, like King and Malcolm X, but they have not been aroused.

"I believe our leaders are here, but we have to find ways to reach them - to help our young people see their self worth - to look beyond the mass media," he said. "Big businesses - the media being a big business also - and the government said the blacks are getting too much empowerment ... the big businesses dilute us to keep us down."

Lansana said King was assassinated when his advocacy for boycotting certain companies reached larger companies - he only became a threat when the message was "positive and large."

In his speech, Adams, who bores a similar message, said "blacks should not be viewed as a defect of God on his part," because this view is a type of oppression.

Lansana agreed that oppression still exists and added that it has become institutionalized so the education of young minds is even more detrimental in encouraging young activists to step forth and take heed of King's legacy.

"We have to instill in our youth a sense of history. Textbooks perpetuate false events (and) the more the system puts out false (information) the harder we need to work to educate the young people."

Alex Wright, director of the African American Student Affairs Center, shares a similar view of the future leaders of America.

"When you have these kinds of events, people like Dr. Adams make us think, and out there is an activist who doesn't know it," Wright said.

Wright added that students should be encouraged to attend cultural seminars, speaker series and events that are rich in cultural history because a person's heritage is the root that grows thick into the future - one that becomes stronger in truth.

"When you hear the truth, a button is pushed and a leader is born," Wright said. "Afterwards that person can become a social activist - that is why it is so important - there is a potential leader."