Mathis calls for change

"We must change the social, penal and economic systems in this country and rebuild them in our own image and interest," said Thaddeus Mathis of Temple University's School of Social Work as he left the stage to the thunderous applause and standing ovation from the over 400 people present. The African-American Association of Administrators, Faculty and Staff hosted Mathis's speech as part of the Martin Luther King Day celebrations at the Penn Tower Hotel. A.A.A. tri-chair Jerry Johnson said that he and co-chairs James Gray and Thomas Henry selected Mathis because he is one of the premier political scientists in America. "He is a man who understands the history as well as the current plight of his people," Johnson said. In his keynote address, Mathis stressed that not only was the black man far from his goal of equality, but that he had lost sight of King's objectives. "Support for Martin Luther King Jr. is far greater than support for his dream," said Mathis. "We celebrate the man, but don't always live by what he stood for." Mathis continued by explaining that King is a metaphor for the black people's movement and said it was time for action. "We must create our own tomorrow," he said. "We shall make history or become history." He lamented the problems afflicting most of the black community, but emphasized that it was their duty to rid themselves of things such as drugs, poverty and sexual exploitation. "We must rescue our young from the edge of oblivion," he said. "No drugs! Let the struggle be our narcotic! No poverty! Let the struggle be our wealth! No sexual exploitation! Let the struggle be our aphrodisiac!" Leo Poet of Philadelphia spoke yesterday before Mathis. Poet presented two original poems, one attacking the United States' treatment of Haitian refugees and implied it was a racial issue "Medical supplies and billions of dollars of humanitarian aid, bread and butter and nourishing grain, are reserved for my European strain," the poem said. His second poem, "The Dream Beyond the Dream," celebrated the ideals of Martin Luther King and urged American youth to "catch the spirit of Martin's fire."

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