Remembering Dr. King

Dancers, singers and scholars filled the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom last night for Portland State University’s third annual celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event was originally scheduled for Jan. 18 to coincide with MLK Day, but was canceled due to snow.

Charles Johnson, acclaimed writer and political cartoonist, delivered the keynote speech at the event. He read from a collection short stories entitled Dr. King’s Refrigerator and read the preface of his historical novel Dreamer, a dramatization of King’s later life published in 1998. Johnson said the preface was an interpretation of King’s life in 1966 as Johnson imagined it to be.

Portland State Provost Roy Koch made the opening speech, followed by a performance from the Woodlawn Dancers, a group of students from Woodlawn Elementary School. The 12-person dance group performed two traditional dances from West Africa accompanied by three drummers.

The theme of this year’s celebration was “Living the Legacy.” After readings and a quick question-and-answer session with Johnson, the evening concluded with a three-song performance from the Sharon Seventh Day Adventist Church Choir.

Associated Students of Portland State University President Courtney Morse said she attended the event because she was interested in hearing Johnson speak and because King is one of her political heroes.

“I thought Johnson’s ability to see through the eyes of Dr. King was inspiring,” Morse said. “He was very captivating and insightful.”

Students met with Johnson earlier Monday in an interactive session with the award-winning author. Hosted by the Multicultural Center at 12 p.m., students discussed topics ranging from the civil rights movement and King’s work to the U.S. voting process and the possibility of electing the first African-American president.

The session, also in commemoration of King, featured the re-enactment of King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech in its entirety, performed by PSU student Donald Paul.

“It was good, but I wish there would have been more students here from PSU,” said Makerusa Portesano, president of the Pacific Islander Club, member of the Student Fee Committee, and moderator for the event. He said there were a lot of high school students and older community members among the group of nearly 50 people.

The discussion included talk of Barack Obama, who in May 2008 may be the first African-American presidential candidate to win the Democratic primary.

“His campaign is historic,” Johnson said. “But he stands on the shoulders of many in history.”

During the session, Johnson emphasized the importance for society to maintain the positive changes that have occurred within it so that it may not move backwards. He spoke about gang violence and materialism as ways that younger people have violated King’s wishes.

“You can lose everything in a generation,” Johnson said. “Young people do not understand that gains aren’t written in stone and if they don’t work for them, they’ll lose them.”

Originally a political cartoonist, Johnson said he was interested in visual arts at a young age and wanted to become an illustrator. He said he got into writing in college after having experience as a journalist and he got inspired to write a book.

“I had an idea and it wouldn’t leave me alone,” Johnson said.

He said he wrote several novels in college, the seventh of which, Faith and the Good Thing, was his first published novel in 1972. In 1990, Johnson won the National Book Award for Middle Passage.

Johnson is currently an English professor at the University of Washington. He’s a MacArthur Fellow and the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship.

The MLK event committee, a part of the Multicultural Center and a group that spends time throughout the year planning the celebration in honor of King, questioned whether they would reschedule or cancel the event.

“Everybody thought they made the right decision,” said Kyle Bray, program coordinator and master of ceremonies for the event, about deciding to reschedule the event for February.