From the Archives...

Monday is Martin Luther King Day.  Did you know that King spoke at Coe nearly 50 years ago on October 16, 1962?  He spoke in Sinclair auditorium to an overflow crowd.  Read the Gazette article below to see what the students heard that day.

Cedar Rapids Gazette
October 17, 1962. Page 12A
_______________________
An Overflow Crowd Hears
            King at Coe
by Ben Blackstock

An overflow crowd estimated
at more than 1,200
was told Tuesday night that
if America is to win over the
newly independent na-
tions of Africa and Asia, it
must first solve its own
problem of racial discrim-
ination.
Dr. Martin Luther King,
noted pacifist leader in ra-
cial integration, told the au-
dience in the Coe college
auditorium that the eyes of
these new nations are upon
America.
"They have made it clear
that they will not accept a
system which discriminates
on, the basis of race. We
must act now before it is
too late. The clock of des-
tiny is ticking out.
Morally Wrong
"But we must solve this
problem of racial injustice
not because the law says
racial discrimination is
wrong and not because the
supreme court says it is
wrong but rather because it
is morally wrong.
"If America is to achieve
its dream of equality of man
it must do three things:
"First, we must make the
world dream of brotherhood
a reality. We live in a world
which is much closer geo-
graphically due to scientific
progress and the speed of
transportation.
"We must live together
as a brotherhood or perish
together as fools. No na-
tion can live alone as no
individual can live alone.
"But how can one avoid
being depressed when we see
millions going to bed hungry
each night and millions sleep-
ing on sidewalks? We spent
millions building military
bases when we could spend
millions more to end world
hunger and promote brother-
hood.
"Second, we must get rid
of this notion once and for
all that there are inferior
and superior races, Science
has said there is no truth in
the theory of superior or in-
ferior races.
"Man once justified this
doctrine with Biblican pass-
ages and even used the Bible
to justify slavery.  Today,
however, more and more
people have gotten away
from the Biblical and reli-
gious argument to justify ra-
cial discrimination.
Environment
"Now these people say
discrimination is necessary
for sociological and cultural
reasons. They say the Negro
is not culturally ready for in-
tegration; that he would pull
back the white people if we
had integration.
"If there is a lagging
standard in the Negro com-
munity, this is due to en-
vironment and not race. It is
indeed tragic logic to use the
results of segregation as a
reason to perpetuate segre-
gation.
"And finally , we must
work vigorously to get rid of
racial segregation in all its
dimensions.
"Segregation is still
America's shame and the
Negro's burden. Segrega-
tion is the cancer in de-
mocracy's body.  In the
South many of the public
facilities are still segre-
gated. And in the North we
have the twin evils of hous-
ing and employment dis-
crimination."
Dr. King said the emanci-
pation proclamation freed
Negroes from the bondage of
physical slavery but "today's
segregation is just a new
form of slavery covered up
with frills and disguises."
Speaking on what he
termed the "ugly picture" in
Mississippi, Dr. King said:
"It is tragic indeed that lead-
ers in education, religion and
business did not take a stand
before the crises developed.
"The whole nation must
take some responsibility for
what happened in Missis-
sippi. It happened because of
compromises made 75 years
ago and comprises made in
the last few years."
Dr. King said the Negro
who has been suppressed
must go out and actively
gain his freedom. He may do
this by three different meth-
ods, Dr. King said:
Three Choices
"By acquiescence— accept
oppression and adjust to it.
Or second, by use of physical
violence or corroding hatred.
"Violence may bring about
a temporary victory but will
not bring permanent peace.
It creates more problems
than it solves.
"The third choice is to use
non-violent resistance. With
this method we are able to
stand up against an unjust
situation with as much vigor
as with the use of violence.
"But it is better because
it has a way of disarming
opposition.  It weakens mo-
rale and at the same time
works on the opposition's
conscience."