by S. Rotan Hale
In observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, the Roanoke Alumni Chapter, North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (NCA&T) held it’s an annual breakfast buffet.
The affair, held this year Monday, Jan. 18, is one of the most well attended events of its kind in this area.
The combination of stimulating speakers, delightful light entertainment and great food in an upscale setting guarantee the event’s success over the years.
Now in its 19th year, attendees braved the bitter winter cold and packed the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center Ballroom for an affair that upheld the organizations standards on all levels.
Through prepared remarks, local NCA&T Alumni president Stacey Johnson-Pulliam said… “Martin Luther King inspired generations to fight the good fight and to stand for what is right. He believed color religion or creed did not determine the will of a man–but the courage to do what is just and drive one’s actions. It’s our differences as a people that make a stronger America and Dr. King’s dream embodies this strength.”
Roanoke City Mayor David Bowers and a host of other city officials came out in full force for the occasion that quickly got underway with several moving musical selections.
A vocal sextet of students from Jefferson Center Music Lab led by Bernadette Jones, an extraordinary vocalist, performed as part of the talented youth–traditionally featured at this event. Virginia Harris a young vocalist also performed a solo as well.
A most intriguing video, “If I had Sneezed” a haunting story, narrated by Dr. King himself. In a solemn voice eloquently resonating, Dr. King told of the assassination attempt while in New York City by a woman who stabbed him during a book-signing event.
Rushed to a nearby hospital, the x-rays revealed that the blade had penetrated so close to Dr. King’s aorta (a main artery) that a mere sneeze would have resulted in his death.
Most moving was Dr. King’s focus on the get-well letters received and of one that was more significant to him than those from the President, Vice-President and many noted dignitaries worldwide.
“I read a few but one of them I will never forget,” he states in the video as an acoustic guitar strums softly in the background.
Delicately King spoke of the letter from a little girl–a 9th grade student at White Plains High School, NY.
The student who mentioned that she was White, explained how she read in the New York Times about his misfortune. In closing the student wrote, “I’m simply writing you to say that I am so happy that you didn’t sneeze.”
The video’s photos, music and stunning graphics painted the perfect picture of a wounded heart King touched by the quaint and thoughtful expressions of a little girl.
Dr. King went on to mention many events critical to the civil rights movement that he “would not have been around for ” had he simply sneezed.
The video set the stage for keynote speaker Dr. Wornie Reed who followed with actual stories of his participation in the civil rights movement and personal interactions with MLK himself.
Reed is professor of Sociology and Africana Studies and director of the Race and Social Policy Research Center at Virginia Tech.
He is an accomplished scholar with an incredibly impressive resume as an educator, prolific author, TV producer and photographer. A portion of his huge collection of photos featuring great jazz artists are currently on display at the Harrison Museum of African American Culture.
In a humorous and down-to-earth manner Reed first stated his lengthy bio also showed that he “couldn’t keep a job.” He made special mention of the four young A&T students who in 1960 bravely sat at a segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro NC–creating an incident that would serve as a critical moment in the civil rights movement.
Reed launched his attack on the premise that “there is an imposter among us.” That “imposter,” he explained, was the image of Martin Luther King–celebrated erroneously as a man who fought for a “color blind society.”
Referring to the belief as “trite and basically untrue,” Reed conversely said, “Dr. King was fighting for the elimination of racial discrimination.”
Among other perceived notions, Reed took issue with the idea that King was “a man of peace.”
“I heard Martin Luther King speak at least 40 or 50 times and only once did I ever hear him advocate for peace,” said Reed referring to Kings opposition to war regarding the Vietnam campaign.
Throughout his half-hour presentation Reed continued to calmly oppose several other conventional beliefs about the slain civil rights icon.
Reed’s comprehensive and engaging lecture that also involved a video of King during the “Poor People’s Campaign (1968), provides a more realistic picture of the man and his mission.
As Dr. Wornie Reed so apply put it, “To say that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a dreamer… doesn’t capture the essence of what the man was about.”
Exceptional thought provoking functions as the NCA&T Alumni Association’s well-organized annual event feed the spirit and sharpen the focus for those inclined to activate. Real change often comes through great organization’s whose efforts keep far more than just dreams alive.
