Civil Rights Leaders Emphasize Legacies as Calls for Action at Annual MLK Tribute
By Amelia Flood
Recalling the last days in the life of a storied Civil Rights leader and the lessons learned over decades of activism , Ambassador Andrew Young reminded those gathered at Saint Louis University on Friday , Jan . 12 , that the legacies of the Rev . Martin Luther King Jr ., and other civil rights advocates , should inspire them to work for inclusivity , racial equity , peace and economic justice in their daily lives and in the future . Young was the keynote speaker at the 2018 MLK Tribute hosted by SLU and the Urban League of Metropolitan St . Louis . The memorial event and tribute honors the life and legacy of King as lived out by those working for justice and racial inclusion today . Young was honored along with seven other civil rights advocates , many of whom spoke of the need for the continuation of King ’ s mission .
Young , a key confidante to King , told the audience of his reaction to King ’ s death 50 years ago in Memphis after an assassin had fired the shot that killed the Civil Rights leader .
“ I thought , ‘ You ’ ve left us for heaven , but you ’ ve left us in hell ,” Young recalled . He spoke of the confusion other members of the movement felt and of how King ’ s memory inspired them to action . “ They also realized that when Martin Luther King died , the struggle was just beginning .”
SLU also honors King ’ s visit with readings of the speech he gave in the West Pine Gym , now the Center for Global Citizenship , each year . SLU photo “ This country is not going backward ,” Young declared . “ Differences create insecurities . Insecurity is what racism is all about . And if you ’ re secure in yourself , you can love everybody .” The challenge , he said , was to work toward that change in every day life by invoking his father ’ s advice to him as a boy : “ Don ’ t get mad , get smart .” That advice , he said , allowed him to approach a jail guard who used insulting language whom he met while visiting King and other civil rights leaders in a Georgia prison with respect instead of anger . Fate brought the two men together years later . Decades after their meeting in the Georgia jail , Young again met the guard . The man had been so moved by their conversations that he had remade his life , away from the violence and racism of those jails cells . The ambassador recalled that his one-time adversary thanked him “ for helping me be free .” “ Race is not an impermeable barrier ,” Young reminded the crowd . “ As Dr . King said , ‘ we are inescapably bound together in a network of mutuality .’” King ’ s was the not the only legacy invoked during the Jan . 12 ceremony in SLU ’ s Wool Ballroom . Honoree Glenda Hatchett , the first African American woman to become chief judge of a state court in Georgia , dedicated her Legal Legend Award to pioneering civil rights St . Louis attorney Frankie Muse Freeman . Freeman died later that day at the age of 101 . Michael McMillan , president of the Urban League of Metropolitan St . Louis and a SLU alumnus , recognized the work of former SLU Dean Don Brennan , Ph . D ., as well as Norm White , Ph . D ., a SLU criminologist who was noted for his work related to racial equity and children ’ s education , who died in December 2017 . Both White and Brennan ’ s widows were present at the ceremony and were recognized as their husbands ’ representatives . McMillan also spoke of the role SLU ’ s Jesuit values and Ignatian educational tradition played in his own path to civil rights advocacy . Continued >
Noting the changing terrain of battles for civil rights and justice – from racial segregation and racism of his New Orleans childhood in the 1930s to economic inequality today – Young noted that those assembled had a duty to connect and to work to surmount differences and divisions , even in tense political times .
The Rev . Dr . Martin Luther King , Jr . spoke at SLU in 1964 . The University has partnered with the Urban League of Greater St . Louis to host a memorial tribute and awards ceremony annually .