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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 20, 1998)
The Battalion Tuesday • January 20, 1998 Aggielife I Have a Dream • Delivered on the steps at the oln Memorial in Washington, on August 28,1963. H V live score years ago, a l-H great American, in A. whose symbolic shadow \r stand signed the Emancipa- ioi Proclamation. This momen- (his decree came as a great bea- nn jlight of hope to millions of ro slaves who had been seared n i he flames of withering injus- kv. It came as a joyous daybreak oi nd the long night of captivity. I tut one hundred years later, we m i st face the tragic fact that the Ne- rki’id is still not free. One hundred i nrs later, the life of the Negro is lit ill sadly crippled by the manacles ■ k s ‘gregation and the chains of dis- p i i i iiination. One hundred years ■ iiicr, the Negro lives on a lonely is- E, i in 1 of poverty in the midst of a vast Sieean of material prosperity. One Funidred years later, the Negro is Ji till languishing in the corners of P\iiierican society and finds himself §B i n i xile in his own land. So we have I nine here today to dramatize an ippalling condition. In a sense we have come to our union’s capital to cash a check. A hen the architects of our repub- B -jic wrote the magnificent words of he Constitution and the Declara- ion of Independence, they were leaguing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. T his note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalien able rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘in sufficient funds.’ But we refuse to be lieve that the bank of justice is bank rupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check a check that will give us upon de mand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to re mind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug oi gradualism. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of op portunity to all of Gods children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands oi racial injus tice to the solid rock of brotherhood. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency oi the moment and to underestimate the determi nation of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of free dom and equality. Nineteen sixty- three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be nei ther rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citi zenship rights. The whirlwinds of re volt will continue to shake the foun dations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro com munity must not lead us to distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devo tees of civil rights, ‘When will you be satisfied?’ We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy witli the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi can not vote and a Negro in New York be lieves he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and right eousness like a mighty stream. I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great tri als and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of perse cution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Con tinue to work with the faith that un earned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair. Please see Speech on Page 4. What His Words Mean Today... By Chris Martin Marium Mohiuddin I nequality, disharmony, ignorance and fear. In 1963, these diseases festered deep in the wounds of a na tion weaiy from the struggle for racial equality and civil rights. Fortunately, there was a doctor in the crowd, and from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Mar tin Luther King, Jr. prescribed a cure. STUDENT SENATOR PERSPECTIVE Abby Mudroch, a senior histoiy major and an off- campus senator, said she wishes King's speech would have a bigger effect upon today’s society. “The word of mouth for this school is bad, espe cially with minorities coming to A&M,” Mudroch said. “With Hopwood we lost scholarships for mi norities, which was our major recruiting tool. Mi norities do not want to come here. I remember talk ing to some friends, and they would be upset that they were here, and the only reason they came was because of a scholarship.” Mudroch said having a university more culturally di verse would add to the understanding of the students. “There are not many minorities in my classes and there are not many minorities at A&M,” she said. “I have been to an all-white high school and to a 50/50 integrated high school. I noticed the school that is more integrated was much more open-minded and you can learn so much from others. I have seen the difference and it makes a big impact. We are losing out.” Mudroch said the message King tried to get across is being lost to some people as generations pass. “Some people take this day seri ously, but others consider it to be just another holiday,” Mudroch said. “It is important that we keep the memoiy alive. The speech has had a supreme effect upon my life, especially the part where he talks about the little kids holding hands. Little kids playing on a playground do not differentiate be tween color. I wish people were more open-minded, and I wish they would get rid of the color barriers.” RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE Umima Baig, a post-bacheloreate in education, said King’s speech has had a dramatic effect upon American society. “There have been many changes from that speech,” Baig said. “It has been an eye opener for everyone, es pecially minorities. It was something they felt all their lives but [were] not able to articulate well. I believe it opened the eyes of Caucasians, and I believe everyone is still moved and gets choked up from it.” Baig said the speech has opened the door for change. “You are not going to see it radically change the world,” Baig said, “but now A&M has finally changed and accepted it as a holiday, so the speech is still af fecting people.” Baig said King initiated the laws which have brought equality to all people. “It speaks on behalf of religious minorities as well,” she said. “What he said is similar to the teachings of Is lam: There should be equality and there is no difference between whites and nonwhites.” Please see King on Page 5. *2t/eCc9*tte STERLING UNIVERSITY COLLEGIATE RESIDENCES Setting the New Standard in Student Living. - Two, Three & Four Bedroom Apartments - Brand New!? Look For A Sneak Preview Coming in February!! 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