Yolanda King relates father's civil rights dream

Yolanda King, the daughter of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., related her father's vision to about 500 people last night in Zellerbach Theater. The two-hour program, titled "A Dream Is Still A Dream," consisted of King's keynote address, speeches by University officials and students and musical performances. King began her speech by quoting Langston Hughes' poem, asking the audience, "What happens to a dream deferred?". In spite of the world's multi-faceted technological advances, King said, the world is suffering a drought of principles and integrity. This, she said, is manifest in the billions of dollars spent by the U.S. government on its nuclear arsenal. King voiced her fear that the civil rights movement may seem to be ancient history to today's students. "It was not a documentary, or a television special," King said vehemently. King said civil rights activism is on the decline, and sheer greed and an obsession with militarism are disfiguring the moral face of America. "In 1992, Jim Crow is dead," King said. "Jim Crow might be dead, but his slightly more sophisticated son, J. Crow Esquire, is alive and kicking." King emphasized that civil rights actions must go further than words to accomplish true change. "It is far easier to build monuments than it is to build a better world," King said. King elaborated on her father's vision, saying that near the end of his life, he had wanted to march on Washington again. This time, however, the march would be to stop the functioning of the government so that the Vietnam War would end, and the country would attend to its domestic problems. "That was the last dream," she said. "Perhaps you will understand why the bullet came. Perhaps you will even understand where it came from," she added. King said the aims of the civil rights movement are yet to be achieved, and can only be fulfilled by through cooperation in the black community. In addition, she recommended that the University institute a requirement for all students to take one course in ethnic studies and multiculturalism. "I urge you to choose to dream and to act on your dream," she said. Tanya Burke, the president of the Black Graduate and Professional Alliance, introduced the program. Reverend Stanley Johnson, the University's chaplain, delivered the invocation and President Sheldon Hackney and Provost Michael Aiken each delivered welcome messages. The speeches were highlighted by musical selections performed by students. Martin Dias, president of the Black Student League, introduced King as the keynote speaker by asking that those people in the audience who believe that the University should officially celebrate the holiday stand and clap. His request elicited a standing ovation, as did King's appearance on the stage. The presentation closed with a benediction by Reverend Johnson, and the singing of "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing." "It was remarkable . . . tear-jerking, at times," audience member Jen Moses said of the speech. "I regret that we haven't made the kind of progress we should have with civil rights. I don't frown on the future, but I'd like to make as much of a positive change as I possibly can."