PrincetonUniversity
 

Smith: Seek deeper meanings in King's life and ministry

by Patricia Allen
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. only for his most celebrated moments -- the Montgomery bus boycott, his "I Have A Dream" speech and his Nobel Peace Prize -- is an injustice to his memory and the entire civil rights movement, said Valerie Smith in the keynote address at the University's Jan. 19 program honoring King.

"But by focusing on the same moments in Dr. King's life and on a few words from one speech in particular, we, paradoxically, reduce him to the status of an icon," said Smith, the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature and director of Princeton's Program in African-American Studies. "We do a disservice to his memory, to the movement to which he gave so much and in the service of which he died and to the legacy we seek to honor.

"We risk allowing him to stand in for the civil rights struggle in its entirety, thereby rendering invisible the less well known or indeed unknown foot soldiers without whom there would have been no movement," she said. "In other words, to limit Dr. King to a few phrases and a few moments makes us complicit with an act of cultural amnesia."

Smith did not suggest doing away with ceremonies and celebrations. She challenged the audience to "work out the most meaningful way to honor his legacy. I want to suggest that as we remember Dr. King, we commit ourselves to a vision of memory as a critical function. Let us ... look beyond the prizes and the fanfare, and seek to explore the deeper, more profound meanings of his life and ministry."

Smith's speech was one of the highlights in the annual King Day celebration at Richardson Auditorium. The event recognized area school children who won prizes in the University's annual essay, poster and video contests. This year's contests were intended to commemorate the 40th anniversary of King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Vice Provost Joann Mitchell served as emcee.

The event also included performances by the Princeton University Gospel Ensemble, which concluded the program with a lively rendition of the 1960s civil rights anthem, "We Shall Overcome."

Lauren Robinson-Brown, committee convener and the University's director of communications, announced the establishment of the MLK Journey Award. The award will be given annually beginning at the 2005 King Day celebration to a member of the faculty, staff and student body who most represents the continued journey started by King.

President Shirley M. Tilghman's remarks highlighted the broader contributions of King beyond the civil rights movement. "It is amazing to me to realize just how many topics Dr. King addressed and influenced in his all too brief lifetime," she said.

"Dr. King was also a humanitarian interested in many global issues," she said. While reading an excerpt from King's 1967 book, "The Trumpet of Conscience," Tilghman noted he grappled with the technological revolution and feared its dangers if allowed to advance without moral purpose.

"Indeed 36 years after he wrote those words, debates about the reconciliation of scientific advancement with humanistic values have come to the fore," she said, citing issues in information technology and privacy, medicine and national security and individual freedoms.

The full text of Smith's speech is available on the King Day celebration site. A Webcast of the event will be archived in WebMedia.

Valerie Smith, director of Princeton's Program in African-American Studies, delivered the keynote address at the Martin Luther King Day celebration.

photos: Denise Applewhite

Poster by contest first prize co-winner Sheeba Arif, grade 6, John Witherspoon School, Princeton

Poster by contest first prize co-winner Rachel Waychunas, grade 5, Sayen Elementary School, Hamilton