William H. Willimon - "Making the Dream a Reality" Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Service (January 14, 1990)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | First let me say good evening | 8:50 |
to each and every one of you. | 8:51 | |
Let me try it again, good evening | 8:54 | |
to each and every one of you. | 8:56 | |
Let us stand for our call to worship. | 8:59 | |
We come to this service with so many needs and longings. | 9:12 | |
We've been many different places | 9:16 | |
and conceived many different thoughts. | 9:18 | |
(congregation reciting) | 9:21 | |
And that is why we are here | 9:27 | |
to acknowledge our core existence | 9:29 | |
and admit our need for love. | 9:31 | |
(congregation reciting) | 9:34 | |
Together so in the sprit of the late | 9:42 | |
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, | 9:45 | |
we join in the continuous struggle for love, | 9:47 | |
acceptance and equality for all of God's children. | 9:50 | |
Let us join together in the hymn, | 9:54 | |
lift every voice and sing. | 9:56 | |
(organ music) | 9:59 | |
♪ Lift every voice and sing, ♪ | 10:18 | |
♪ Till earth and heaven ring, ♪ | 10:21 | |
♪ Ring with the harmonies of Liberty, ♪ | 10:26 | |
♪ Let our rejoicing rise ♪ | 10:35 | |
♪ High as the listening skies, ♪ | 10:40 | |
♪ Let it resound loud as the rolling sea. ♪ | 10:44 | |
♪ Sing a song full of the faith ♪ | 10:55 | |
♪ That the dark past has taught us ♪ | 11:00 | |
♪ Sing a song full of the hope ♪ | 11:04 | |
♪ That the present has brought us ♪ | 11:09 | |
♪ Facing the rising sun ♪ | 11:16 | |
♪ Of our new day begun, ♪ | 11:21 | |
♪ Let us march on till victory is won. ♪ | 11:25 | |
♪ Stony the road we trod ♪ | 11:35 | |
♪ Bitter the chastening rod, ♪ | 11:40 | |
♪ Felt in the days when hope unborn had died ♪ | 11:44 | |
♪ Yet with a steady beat ♪ | 11:54 | |
♪ Have not our weary feet ♪ | 11:58 | |
♪ Come to the place for which our fathers sighed ♪ | 12:03 | |
♪ We have come over a way that with tears has been watered ♪ | 12:14 | |
♪ We have come, treading our path ♪ | 12:22 | |
♪ Through the blood of the slaughtered, ♪ | 12:27 | |
♪ Out from the gloomy past, ♪ | 12:34 | |
♪ Till now we stand at last ♪ | 12:39 | |
♪ Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. ♪ | 12:43 | |
♪ God of our weary years, ♪ | 12:54 | |
♪ God of our silent tears, ♪ | 12:58 | |
♪ Thou who hast brought us thus far on the way ♪ | 13:03 | |
♪ Thou who hast by Thy might, ♪ | 13:13 | |
♪ Led us into the light, ♪ | 13:17 | |
♪ Keep us forever in the path, we pray. ♪ | 13:22 | |
♪ Lest our feet stray from the places, ♪ | 13:33 | |
♪ Our God, where we meet Thee, ♪ | 13:38 | |
♪ Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine ♪ | 13:42 | |
♪ Of the world we forget Thee ♪ | 13:47 | |
♪ Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand, ♪ | 13:54 | |
♪ True to our God, true to our native land. ♪ | 14:04 | |
- | Let us pray. | 14:19 |
Oh God we are here tonight to remember | 14:22 | |
a great man who led us forth who had a dream | 14:27 | |
and was able to communicate that dream to others. | 14:32 | |
We're here to give thanks for the sacrifice of his life | 14:37 | |
and the lives of many others. | 14:41 | |
Thereby we are here to acknowledge | 14:45 | |
that if we go forth, if there is progress, | 14:48 | |
it is only because of the sacrifice | 14:53 | |
of those who have gone before us | 14:56 | |
and we are here to confess that we have not gone far enough | 15:00 | |
and to celebrate that through it all, | 15:08 | |
you have been with us and we are here to seek your will | 15:12 | |
and your word and your encouragement to continue to dream. | 15:20 | |
Amen. | 15:29 | |
Be seated. | 15:31 | |
- | On behalf of the Duke chapel staff, I'd like to extend | 15:41 |
a very warm welcome to each of you | 15:45 | |
to the service of celebration and commemoration | 15:48 | |
of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | 15:51 | |
It seems most fitting that we should gather in this chapel | 15:54 | |
right here in the heart of or own community | 15:57 | |
for among Dr. King's many gifts, | 15:59 | |
he was first and foremost a preacher, | 16:02 | |
one of God's great prophets of our time | 16:05 | |
sent to bring us a message that we will never forget. | 16:07 | |
We remember him for the kind of faithfulness he lived, | 16:11 | |
for the courage he embodied and for the equality for all | 16:14 | |
which he died for. | 16:19 | |
It is in the spirit of thanksgiving for life he lived | 16:21 | |
and of peace for all which he taught us all to strive for | 16:24 | |
that we gather together this evening. | 16:29 | |
I would also like to thank Mr. John Wilson III minister | 16:31 | |
to the Black Campus ministry and to all his students | 16:35 | |
for the hard work they put into this service | 16:37 | |
and this wonderful occasion that rings us together. | 16:40 | |
- | In the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, | 16:51 |
as recorded in the fifth chapter, the 15th chapter | 16:54 | |
of St. John, beginning at the 12 verse it reads, | 16:57 | |
"This is commandment that you love one another | 17:02 | |
"as I have loved you. | 17:05 | |
"Greater love have no man than this, | 17:07 | |
"that a man lay down his life for his friends." | 17:11 | |
Good evening, I'm John Wilson III, | 17:15 | |
Black Campus minister here at Duke University | 17:17 | |
and I am of the persuasion that this passage of scripture | 17:20 | |
tiplifies the person that we are here to honor | 17:25 | |
and commemorate tonight, | 17:27 | |
the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. | 17:29 | |
This service of celebration is in honor of Dr. King | 17:32 | |
a man with a message, a man who gave his life | 17:37 | |
so that the down-trodden of this society | 17:41 | |
and oppressed people of this great nation | 17:45 | |
could indeed experience their inalienable rights, | 17:48 | |
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. | 17:52 | |
366 years ago, 366 years after | 17:57 | |
60 blacks landed at Jamestown. | 18:04 | |
122 years after the signing of the emancipation proclamation | 18:08 | |
and 31 after the Supreme Court banned segregation, | 18:14 | |
these United States of America, North and South | 18:19 | |
black, brown and white will stop for 24 hours | 18:23 | |
to honor the memory and the light of this great individual. | 18:29 | |
We gather here this evening to celebrate and not mourn | 18:34 | |
for this is indeed a celebration | 18:37 | |
so you can smile if you would like. | 18:39 | |
You can clap your hands and you can also | 18:41 | |
speak to your neighbor for this is a celebration, | 18:43 | |
a time for celebration for we are not a people without hope | 18:47 | |
despite the fact that Dr. King no longer is with us | 18:52 | |
we still have dreams and we still | 18:56 | |
can make the dream a reality. | 18:59 | |
The quidtesance of Dr King's message was love, equality | 19:01 | |
and freedom for all people. | 19:07 | |
He died so that our lives could better. | 19:09 | |
Not only did King die but also other people | 19:12 | |
gave their lives for the struggle | 19:14 | |
and that is why we are here. | 19:16 | |
We must always be mindful of the fact that 30 years ago | 19:19 | |
things weren't quite the way that they are now. | 19:22 | |
There were certain paces that blacks could not go, | 19:25 | |
certain schools where they could not attend | 19:28 | |
but things have changed. | 19:29 | |
Although things aren't perfect, things are better | 19:31 | |
and the struggle continues. | 19:35 | |
Tonight let us carefully examine ourselves | 19:37 | |
and our commitment to the dream | 19:41 | |
of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr | 19:42 | |
and let us strive daily to determine | 19:44 | |
what were actually doing | 19:47 | |
and what we're prepared to do to ensure | 19:49 | |
that Dr. King's living, his death | 19:53 | |
and his struggle was not in vain. | 19:56 | |
Let us work diligently to become a drum agent for justice | 19:59 | |
so that this celebration can be a true celebration | 20:02 | |
not only today but forever in our lives. | 20:05 | |
Ladies and gentlemen, our purpose | 20:08 | |
and our statement of purpose for being here tonight. | 20:11 | |
(organ music) | 20:29 | |
(choir singing) | 21:38 | |
(applause) | 24:26 | |
(organ music) | 24:49 | |
(choir singing) | 25:04 | |
(applause) | 28:30 | |
- | Let us give the Duke University Coral | 29:19 |
another round of applause. | 29:21 | |
(applause) | 29:22 | |
If some of you would like | 29:33 | |
you can move up into this area here | 29:34 | |
but you want to be a little bit closer to what's going on. | 29:36 | |
There three rows of seating | 29:38 | |
and you're welcome to move up and fill up there. | 29:39 | |
At this time we will be favored with the poetic reading | 29:42 | |
from the Presbyterian campus minister | 29:46 | |
here at Duke University, a very good friend of mine, | 29:49 | |
my supervisor who evaluates me | 29:52 | |
and gives me checks and check minuses. | 29:56 | |
So we're gonna ask her to come at this time. | 29:58 | |
Let's give her hand as she comes. | 30:00 | |
Reverend Sue Fritz. | 30:02 | |
(applause) | 30:03 | |
- | A reading from the Prophet Amos from the fifth chapter | 30:12 |
verses 21 to 24. | 30:16 | |
I hate, I despise your feasts | 30:22 | |
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. | 30:26 | |
Even though you offer me your burnt offerings | 30:32 | |
and cereal offerings, I will not accept them | 30:36 | |
and the peace offerings of your fatted beasts, | 30:42 | |
I will not look upon. | 30:46 | |
Take away from me the noise of your songs | 30:49 | |
to the melody of your harps. | 30:53 | |
I will not listen but let justice roll down like waters | 30:55 | |
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. | 31:05 | |
(applause) | 31:17 | |
- | Next on our program our service of celebration. | 31:25 |
We will find out what time it really is. | 31:30 | |
Sometimes some of us have clocks | 31:33 | |
and they're not actually correct, | 31:35 | |
they don't give us the accurate time. | 31:37 | |
Sometimes we're five minutes late, 10 minutes fast | 31:39 | |
but sometimes we need to find out what time it really is | 31:42 | |
for someone said it's later than you actually think | 31:47 | |
and I could think of no other person | 31:51 | |
that would be better to do this | 31:53 | |
than the president of the Durham chapter of the NAACP. | 31:54 | |
Let us welcome Mrs. Fluorine Robinson. | 31:59 | |
(applause) | 32:02 | |
- | I have the audacity to believe | 32:12 |
that all people should have food for their bodies, | 32:16 | |
education and culture for their minds | 32:21 | |
and what self-centered men have torn down, | 32:26 | |
other self-centered men can build up. | 32:30 | |
To Mr. James E Wilson III, you know I like that. | 32:35 | |
When he called me the other day here | 32:39 | |
and he gave his full names. | 32:41 | |
My name is James E Wilson III, a young man | 32:42 | |
who has not forgotten his heritage | 32:47 | |
who believed in carrying on the family name continue. | 32:51 | |
To our other distinguished guests but especially to you, | 32:58 | |
the students and friends of this great institution. | 33:04 | |
I bring you greetings from one of the most largest, | 33:09 | |
one of the oldest, most effective, | 33:13 | |
most prestigious and the most talked-about | 33:19 | |
civil rights organizations in this country, | 33:25 | |
the National Association | 33:29 | |
for the Advancement of Colored People | 33:30 | |
known as the NAACP. | 33:32 | |
I am sure that some of you know nothing | 33:36 | |
about this organization other than the name. | 33:39 | |
I would like to briefly give you a little history | 33:43 | |
of this organization. | 33:47 | |
It was organized in 1909 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 33:51 | |
and one of the co-founders was a white woman, | 33:59 | |
Mrs. Mary Overton White to be a part | 34:02 | |
of an organization such as this, | 34:07 | |
particular in times like that in times | 34:09 | |
like the time that she was there was hard | 34:14 | |
because had anyone known that she was working | 34:20 | |
to help at that time Negroes, | 34:25 | |
you can imagine what would have happened to her | 34:29 | |
but I'm here and I'm grateful | 34:33 | |
that she believed in human rights for all people. | 34:35 | |
Now I'm gonna give you | 34:42 | |
some of the goals of the organization. | 34:43 | |
The organization NAACP and its purpose is | 34:47 | |
to eliminate racial discrimination and segregation | 34:51 | |
from all aspects of public life in America. | 34:56 | |
To secure a free ballot | 35:01 | |
for every qualified American citizen. | 35:03 | |
To seek justice in the courts. | 35:08 | |
To secure legislation, | 35:12 | |
banning discrimination and segregation. | 35:14 | |
To secure equal job opportunities based upon | 35:19 | |
individual merit without regards to race, color or creed. | 35:24 | |
Racism is still in existence. | 35:37 | |
The NAACP is not satisfied at what some of the things | 35:46 | |
are happening today. | 35:54 | |
Are you satisfied? | 35:58 | |
We have come a long way in education | 36:02 | |
but we still have a longer way to go. | 36:04 | |
We have come from separate unequal schools | 36:09 | |
to some desegregated public schools | 36:13 | |
and to colleges of our choice. | 36:17 | |
We want 100% chance integrated schools, | 36:21 | |
adequate financing for black colleges and quality education. | 36:27 | |
The NAACP is not satisfied. | 36:34 | |
We have a long way to go in employment. | 36:37 | |
We have come from no jobs, discrimination of the job | 36:40 | |
and the lowest paying jobs to token jobs, | 36:46 | |
clerks, tellers, with a last touch less, | 36:51 | |
our first part in the last touch. | 36:56 | |
We want high black unemployment eliminated. | 37:00 | |
More black businesses, more managers and supervisors. | 37:06 | |
The NAACP is not satisfied. | 37:12 | |
We have come a long way, | 37:16 | |
we have a longer way to go in housing, | 37:18 | |
we have come a long way. | 37:21 | |
We have come from the most worst housing | 37:23 | |
in the most run down areas to an equal housing loan | 37:27 | |
with few black with decent housings. | 37:35 | |
What we want is an end to discrimination | 37:38 | |
by banks or mortgage loans, decent affordable housing | 37:42 | |
for the masses of blacks. | 37:47 | |
The NAACP is still not satisfied. | 37:51 | |
We have come a long way to political power. | 37:55 | |
We have come from blacks denied the right to vote, | 37:59 | |
to increase voter registration. | 38:05 | |
We have over 3,000 more black elected officials | 38:09 | |
but we can still have more. | 38:16 | |
We want higher number of blacks voting. | 38:21 | |
Election of blacks as governors, senators and even yes, | 38:25 | |
maybe one day the president of these United States. | 38:32 | |
This year history was made all over this country. | 38:37 | |
We were able to elect black governors and some black mayors | 38:41 | |
in various cities and states all over this country. | 38:45 | |
The report of the United States Bureau other senses | 38:51 | |
paints a grim picture of what has happened in America. | 38:55 | |
The urban centers too, black young adults who are assuming | 39:00 | |
there are some responsibilities of survival. | 39:04 | |
Here 25 years later we are still fighting for freedom. | 39:08 | |
Now is a time just as we fought for civil rights legislation | 39:17 | |
to guarantee our right to vote we must now raise a struggle | 39:23 | |
to educate America. | 39:28 | |
We must not forget those fight men and women | 39:31 | |
who have given their lives because they believe | 39:35 | |
in the constitution of these united states | 39:39 | |
that all men are created equal. | 39:42 | |
Our challenge today and the time is now | 39:47 | |
is to make certain that all future generations in America | 39:51 | |
are as near equal as possible for blacks as well as whites. | 39:57 | |
The only way that we can make Dr. Jr dreams | 40:04 | |
become a living reality is to join forces | 40:08 | |
and work together to accomplish those things | 40:12 | |
for which he fought for and died | 40:15 | |
and maybe one day we too can say as he said, | 40:20 | |
free at last, free at last. | 40:26 | |
Thank God Almighty we are free at last. | 40:28 | |
I'm sure you read about the bomb threats, | 40:35 | |
the death of one of our supervised leaders | 40:38 | |
but I'm here to tell you today that the NAACP | 40:42 | |
has been fighting for freedom for 80 years | 40:47 | |
and we have no intentions of stopping now | 40:51 | |
and as for me personally, before I go back, | 40:55 | |
before I be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave | 41:00 | |
and go home to meet my God. | 41:05 | |
(applause) | 41:08 | |
- | I guess you heard that. | 41:24 |
Thank you so much Mrs. Robinson for those kind comments | 41:28 | |
and at this time we will be favored | 41:32 | |
with an A and B selection from our sisters and brothers | 41:34 | |
on the other side of town. | 41:38 | |
The world renowned, the world travel, | 41:40 | |
the world famous worship and praise | 41:43 | |
Fellowship Choir of North Carolina Central University. | 41:46 | |
We welcome them to the chapel. | 41:50 | |
We realize they have so many engagements | 41:53 | |
and they took enough and thought enough of us, | 41:55 | |
took enough time to come out to celebrate with us tonight. | 41:58 | |
Let us receive them with a hearty round of applause | 42:01 | |
at this time. | 42:03 | |
(applause) | 42:04 | |
(organ music) | 42:19 | |
♪ I got joy like a river ♪ | 44:00 | |
♪ And flows unto the sea ♪ | 44:05 | |
♪ I got joy like a river ♪ | 44:09 | |
♪ Like a new born baby I've been set free ♪ | 44:18 | |
♪ Glory hallelujah I've been redeemed ♪ | 44:23 | |
♪ I'm so glad I got it ♪ | 44:27 | |
♪ I got joy ♪ | 44:30 | |
♪ I got joy like river ♪ | 44:35 | |
♪ And it flows continuously ♪ | 44:39 | |
♪ I've got joy like a river ♪ | 44:43 | |
♪ And it flows down in the heart of me ♪ | 44:47 | |
♪ Like a new born baby ♪ | 44:52 | |
♪ I've been set free ♪ | 44:54 | |
♪ Glory hallelujah I've been redeemed ♪ | 44:56 | |
♪ I'm so glad I got it ♪ | 45:00 | |
♪ I got joy ♪ | 45:04 | |
♪ I got joy like a river ♪ | 45:08 | |
♪ And I flows continuously ♪ | 45:13 | |
♪ I got joy like a river ♪ | 45:16 | |
♪ And it floes down in the heart of me ♪ | 45:21 | |
♪ Save my soul and make me holy ♪ | 45:26 | |
♪ Put me on and now I can shout it ♪ | 45:30 | |
♪ Praise the lord, I got it ♪ | 45:34 | |
♪ I got joy ♪ | 45:37 | |
♪ I got joy like a river ♪ | 45:41 | |
♪ And it flows continuously ♪ | 45:46 | |
♪ I got joy like a river ♪ | 45:50 | |
♪ And it flows down in the heart of me ♪ | 45:54 | |
♪ Save my soul and make me holy ♪ | 45:59 | |
♪ Put me on and now I can shout it ♪ | 46:04 | |
♪ Praise the lord I got it ♪ | 46:08 | |
♪ I got joy ♪ | 46:11 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:16 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:17 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 46:18 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:19 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:20 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:21 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 46:23 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 46:26 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:27 | |
♪ Do you want it ♪ | 46:28 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 46:29 | |
♪ Did he save you ♪ | 46:34 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:36 | |
♪ Did he raise you ♪ | 46:37 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:38 | |
♪ I got that joy ♪ | 46:38 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:42 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:43 | |
♪ Do you want it ♪ | 46:45 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 46:46 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 46:50 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 46:53 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 46:54 | |
(clapping) | 46:58 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 47:06 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 47:07 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 47:08 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 47:09 | |
(clapping) | 47:14 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 47:22 | |
♪ I got it ♪ | 47:22 | |
♪ I got the joy ♪ | 47:26 | |
(applause) | 47:30 | |
(organ music) | 47:45 | |
(choir singing) | 48:05 | |
♪ Touch me lord ♪ | 48:57 | |
♪ Touch me lord ♪ | 48:59 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 49:03 | |
♪ Now lord I really need ♪ | 49:17 | |
♪ Your spirit in me ♪ | 49:26 | |
♪ For you ♪ | 49:34 | |
♪ You are the one ♪ | 49:39 | |
♪ That really can supply my needs ♪ | 49:43 | |
♪ There's no way ♪ | 49:53 | |
♪ There's no way I can make or take it ♪ | 50:01 | |
♪ Except lord you live in me ♪ | 50:10 | |
♪ I know lord I know that I've done wrong ♪ | 50:28 | |
♪ But with your spirit I can't go wrong ♪ | 50:37 | |
♪ So touch me lord ♪ | 50:42 | |
♪ Touch me Jesus ♪ | 50:47 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 50:49 | |
♪ Holy holy ♪ | 50:59 | |
♪ Holy holy holy holy ♪ | 51:06 | |
♪ All I want you to do for me lord ♪ | 51:14 | |
♪ Just touch me Jesus ♪ | 51:19 | |
♪ Touch me lord ♪ | 51:21 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 51:24 | |
♪ Holy holy ♪ | 51:34 | |
♪ Holy holy holy holy holy ♪ | 51:40 | |
♪ Just touch me Jesus, touch me lord ♪ | 51:50 | |
♪ Touch me Jesus, touch me lord ♪ | 51:53 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 52:00 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 52:02 | |
♪ Holy holy ♪ | 52:06 | |
♪ Holy holy holy holy ♪ | 52:14 | |
♪ All I want you to do for me lord ♪ | 52:22 | |
♪ Just touch me Jesus, touch me lord ♪ | 52:27 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 52:31 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 52:35 | |
♪ Holy holy ♪ | 52:41 | |
♪ Touch me Jesus, I need your spirit ♪ | 52:48 | |
♪ Touch me lord ♪ | 52:56 | |
♪ Touch me Jesus ♪ | 53:00 | |
♪ Touch me lord ♪ | 53:02 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 53:04 | |
♪ I really need your spirit ♪ | 53:14 | |
♪ Breathe on me lord ♪ | 53:20 | |
♪ I need your spirit ♪ | 53:23 | |
♪ Just touch me Jesus, touch me lord ♪ | 53:28 | |
♪ Touch me Jesus, touch me lord ♪ | 53:32 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 53:36 | |
♪ Touch me Jesus, touch me lord ♪ | 53:41 | |
♪ I need you Jesus ♪ | 53:44 | |
♪ Touch me lord ♪ | 53:47 | |
♪ I need you Jesus ♪ | 53:49 | |
♪ I need you lord ♪ | 53:51 | |
♪ I need your spirit ♪ | 53:53 | |
♪ I need you lord ♪ | 53:55 | |
♪ Touch me lord ♪ | 53:57 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 54:01 | |
♪ Just one more time ♪ | 54:03 | |
♪ Touch me Jesus ♪ | 54:05 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 54:10 | |
♪ Just one more time ♪ | 54:12 | |
♪ I need you lord ♪ | 54:14 | |
♪ I need you Jesus ♪ | 54:16 | |
♪ I need you lord ♪ | 54:18 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 54:21 | |
♪ One more time ♪ | 54:27 | |
(applause) | 54:31 | |
- | I've just been informed that | 55:24 |
they want me to say a few words. | 55:28 | |
It gives me a pleasure to come before you | 55:30 | |
on such a momentous occasion. | 55:34 | |
The choir has come so graciously to serve | 55:38 | |
and to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ. | 55:44 | |
They came to our anniversary this year | 55:47 | |
and we want to return the favor to them | 55:49 | |
and we say to you don't hesitate to invite us again | 55:53 | |
and we will come as often as you will invite us to come | 55:57 | |
and we thank you for inviting us | 56:01 | |
but this occasion speaks for itself. | 56:03 | |
On a campus such as North Carolina Central University, | 56:06 | |
we are living the dream. | 56:09 | |
Martin Luther King died that we may have equal rights | 56:13 | |
no matter what the skin color, | 56:18 | |
no matter what the religious beliefs, | 56:20 | |
no matter what the personage, male or female, | 56:23 | |
he came to set an example for us but we must not forget | 56:26 | |
the man that made Martin Luther King. | 56:33 | |
(applause) | 56:36 | |
So many times we tend to push people into the spotlight | 56:44 | |
and up to a pedestal but so many times | 56:49 | |
we forget who the maker is. | 56:53 | |
Jesus came down on this earth to set an example for us. | 56:56 | |
Martin Luther King was just living up to the ideals | 57:01 | |
that Jesus had set before him. | 57:05 | |
(applause) | 57:08 | |
So on this occasion we must not forget | 57:10 | |
the contribution that Martin Luther King made for us | 57:16 | |
but at the same time we must not forget | 57:21 | |
that Jesus is the savior of the world. | 57:23 | |
Jesus died for your sins. | 57:26 | |
Jesus came to this earth, he lived among you. | 57:29 | |
His own received him not. | 57:33 | |
That's the man that we must give the honor | 57:36 | |
and the praise to today and I say to you Duke University, | 57:40 | |
friends, guests, I say look to Jesus. | 57:47 | |
Martin Luther King was one man, we are many | 57:54 | |
but don't forget to put your eye on the prize | 57:58 | |
and look to Jesus. | 58:03 | |
(applause) | 58:04 | |
- | Thank you so much David T Wilson. | 58:20 |
David T Wilson, president of the Worship | 58:24 | |
and Praise Fellowship choir. | 58:29 | |
I asked central to come and I asked the University chorale | 58:32 | |
to come in the modern black mass choir because I believe | 58:35 | |
we can all get together and have a celebration. | 58:37 | |
Now tonight is Sunday night and I do believe | 58:40 | |
this is Duke Chapel. | 58:43 | |
This is a place of worship right Reverend Williman. | 58:45 | |
Now he preached today | 58:48 | |
I will see I heard him he preached today | 58:49 | |
so I do believe that the Spirit of God is yet here | 58:52 | |
and if you smile you might feel better. | 58:55 | |
And it's alright to clap your hands | 59:01 | |
and if you feel the Spirit of God | 59:03 | |
I don't think Reverend Willimon will mind | 59:04 | |
if you just raise your hand and tell the Lord thank you. | 59:06 | |
Whatever you want to do this is a celebration | 59:09 | |
and to continue in our celebration | 59:12 | |
we're going to ask the president-elect | 59:14 | |
of the Black Student Alliance Mr. Eric T Dozier | 59:16 | |
to come and introduce our student speakers | 59:19 | |
who've been asked to speak from three to five minutes | 59:22 | |
and I do repeat. | 59:25 | |
(applause) | 59:31 | |
You see I know what time it is | 59:37 | |
but at this time we're going to hear from Eric T Dozier | 59:41 | |
and I do believe and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt | 59:44 | |
that you're in for a treat. | 59:46 | |
You're in for some balls of fire, | 59:49 | |
some words of conviction. | 59:50 | |
People that will separate their points | 59:52 | |
adamantly and intelligently they have something to say | 59:54 | |
so listen to them and they will be introduced | 59:57 | |
by Eric T Dozier, president-elect | 1:00:00 | |
of the Black Student Alliance who's been asked | 1:00:03 | |
to keep his comments from two to four minutes. | 1:00:05 | |
Let's give him a hand as he comes. | 1:00:09 | |
(applause) | 1:00:11 | |
- | First of all I would like to say good evening to everyone | 1:00:17 |
and just applaud NC, North Carolina Central University | 1:00:21 | |
for those selections that they did. | 1:00:27 | |
Stick to the paper. | 1:00:31 | |
We're assembled here today to honor a great man | 1:00:37 | |
and the struggle of a people toward equality for all. | 1:00:42 | |
We celebrate the struggle of an era | 1:00:47 | |
which the majority of us have only heard or read about | 1:00:49 | |
but reap the benefits of. | 1:00:53 | |
This was an error filled with hatred | 1:00:56 | |
and an era of conflict which brought death to some | 1:00:58 | |
with the hope of bringing life and freedom to all. | 1:01:02 | |
Now I was not there and I can only imagine | 1:01:07 | |
that as the dog snapped and the water | 1:01:12 | |
from the fireman's hoses stung the skin of Dr. King | 1:01:14 | |
and the marchers they were brutally reminded | 1:01:18 | |
of the difficulty of their struggle. | 1:01:21 | |
When news of the bombing of a small church | 1:01:24 | |
and the resulting death of four little girls | 1:01:27 | |
tore through the community I imagine it was like | 1:01:30 | |
the scourge of salt being poured into an open bleeding womb. | 1:01:33 | |
Some probably asked themselves is it worth all of this? | 1:01:38 | |
The cross, the very symbol that stood for redemption, | 1:01:44 | |
sanctification and freedom for all was being torched | 1:01:49 | |
in the yards of African American citizens | 1:01:52 | |
by a group who justified their actions | 1:01:55 | |
as being a Divine Right bestowed upon them | 1:01:57 | |
by the same God worshiped by the marchers. | 1:02:00 | |
Genesis chapter 37 verses 19 and 20 reads, | 1:02:06 | |
"They said to one another, here comes the dreamer. | 1:02:11 | |
"Come now let us kill him and throw him into the pits | 1:02:15 | |
"then we shall say that a wild beast has devoured him | 1:02:20 | |
"and we shall see what will become of his dreams." | 1:02:23 | |
We're not only here to celebrate | 1:02:27 | |
the accomplishments Dr. King. | 1:02:29 | |
We are here to attempt to answer the question, | 1:02:31 | |
what has become of his dreams? | 1:02:35 | |
Today we have speaking to us Mr. Patrick B Thomas. | 1:02:39 | |
He's a native of Fort Bragg North Carolina. | 1:02:44 | |
He is a sophomore here at Duke University. | 1:02:46 | |
He's the son of Philip and Eunice Thomas, | 1:02:49 | |
the third son of four boys. | 1:02:53 | |
He is a member of Kappa Alpha saw a fraternity incorporated, | 1:02:56 | |
a member of the Black Student Alliance, | 1:03:00 | |
a newly elected spectrum representative. | 1:03:02 | |
When asked to describe himself he said rough draft. | 1:03:05 | |
Here's a mere rough draft of the man he wants to be. | 1:03:10 | |
Following him would be miss Avery R Emerson. | 1:03:15 | |
First and foremost Avery means child born at the right time. | 1:03:19 | |
(applause) | 1:03:25 | |
It is from the Ashanti tribe in Ghana. | 1:03:29 | |
In addition Avery was born on her father's birthday. | 1:03:33 | |
She is a native of Washington DC | 1:03:36 | |
and an 18 year old sophomore pre-med public policy major | 1:03:39 | |
here at Duke University. | 1:03:43 | |
She is presently serving as a a member | 1:03:45 | |
on the President's Committee for black affairs, | 1:03:48 | |
she's the programming chair for Black Student Alliance | 1:03:51 | |
and has worked with Karamu and the dancing Devils. | 1:03:54 | |
She is a member of Imani temple in Washington DC. | 1:03:57 | |
She describes herself as highly motivated. | 1:04:00 | |
A person who is in love with her African heritage. | 1:04:04 | |
As they come, give them your full attention | 1:04:08 | |
and if you want to applaud | 1:04:11 | |
some of the statements that they make or if you don't agree | 1:04:12 | |
do what you feel because I believe if Dr. King was here, | 1:04:16 | |
he wouldn't be sitting still. | 1:04:20 | |
He would be expressing himself as he wishes all of us to do. | 1:04:23 | |
Thank you. | 1:04:27 | |
(applause) | 1:04:28 | |
- | Good afternoon. | 1:04:38 |
21 years ago an assassin's bullet | 1:04:41 | |
stole the life of Martin Luther King. | 1:04:44 | |
A man who undoubtedly had courage, | 1:04:47 | |
the courage to challenge America's false | 1:04:50 | |
and bitter ideologies that were glazed in hatred, | 1:04:53 | |
fear and ignorance. | 1:04:58 | |
It wasn't the first time a black man's life was taken | 1:05:01 | |
during the tumultuous times in the 60s | 1:05:04 | |
for that was an era where violence | 1:05:07 | |
and hatred was openly encouraged against African-Americans. | 1:05:11 | |
We need only to look at Megger Evers and Malcolm X | 1:05:16 | |
to expound upon that point. | 1:05:19 | |
Initially a spokesman for the Montgomery Improvement | 1:05:22 | |
Association which successfully led a bus boycott, | 1:05:25 | |
King rose to be one of the most effective orators | 1:05:29 | |
at the time who openly challenged white America | 1:05:32 | |
to open their hearts and eyes to discover, | 1:05:36 | |
respect and love their beautiful brothers and sisters | 1:05:42 | |
of African descent. | 1:05:46 | |
On April 4th 1968 when he was assassinated, | 1:05:49 | |
King passed away physically yet his spirit has lived on | 1:05:55 | |
throughout the world. | 1:06:01 | |
During his life he was an example of love | 1:06:03 | |
and a vessel in which God worked through | 1:06:07 | |
until his calling on earth was over | 1:06:11 | |
and so the dreamer passed. | 1:06:14 | |
His dream was left on for us to sustain | 1:06:17 | |
and many of us have shared in that responsibility | 1:06:21 | |
yet just as we are individuals, | 1:06:25 | |
the interpretations of King's dreams are abounding. | 1:06:28 | |
As a black man King dream represents to me | 1:06:33 | |
an awakening of consciousness, black consciousness, | 1:06:38 | |
human consciousness. | 1:06:42 | |
We hear a lot of talk about people uniting | 1:06:44 | |
and loving one another no matter what color they are. | 1:06:47 | |
Let's destroy our color barriers yet does this happen? | 1:06:51 | |
To what extent has it happened? | 1:06:56 | |
In the 60s we struggled to end segregation | 1:07:00 | |
and implement in its place integration | 1:07:03 | |
but integration without education is not sufficient. | 1:07:07 | |
(applause) | 1:07:12 | |
No it is not sufficient when people die | 1:07:16 | |
because of the color of their skin. | 1:07:19 | |
King said he dreamed of a time when his children | 1:07:22 | |
would be judged by the content of their character | 1:07:26 | |
and not by the color of their skin. | 1:07:29 | |
Isn't it beautiful to go to sleep at night | 1:07:34 | |
and have a nice dream? | 1:07:36 | |
Oh yeah we try to keep that feeling for a long time, | 1:07:38 | |
pulling up the blankets a little closer on us, | 1:07:42 | |
putting our head deeper down in that little pillow | 1:07:45 | |
just to make it last a little while longer | 1:07:48 | |
but the dream doesn't last forever | 1:07:53 | |
for surely in the morning time | 1:07:56 | |
when that alarm clock goes off you're gonna wake up | 1:07:58 | |
and you're going to be faced with reality | 1:08:02 | |
and realistically speaking, the world is not going to be | 1:08:05 | |
as it seemed in your dream. | 1:08:09 | |
You'll see many imperfections and at times, | 1:08:12 | |
those imperfections and flaws will seem uncorrectable | 1:08:16 | |
yet I stand here today to tell you that some dreams | 1:08:22 | |
can become realities but you have to work for that dream. | 1:08:25 | |
You have to believe in that dream | 1:08:31 | |
and in some cases you have to die for that dream. | 1:08:33 | |
I have a dream of racial harmony | 1:08:39 | |
but it will not happen no matter how many speakers | 1:08:41 | |
reach out and plead their cases | 1:08:46 | |
if practical steps aren't taken to ensure racial harmony. | 1:08:49 | |
The only way we can respect one another as a people | 1:08:56 | |
is to understand another individual | 1:08:59 | |
and to want to take the time | 1:09:02 | |
to understand another individual | 1:09:03 | |
because we all are beautiful people | 1:09:06 | |
and we all have the power to create | 1:09:09 | |
beautiful things together. | 1:09:11 | |
My people have been labeled as shiftless, | 1:09:14 | |
non initiative human beings if that | 1:09:16 | |
when in fact we are powerful and beautiful people. | 1:09:22 | |
My ancestors and our ancestors for that matter | 1:09:27 | |
have been some of the greatest architects | 1:09:31 | |
ranging from the brothers and sisters | 1:09:34 | |
that built the pyramids in Africa | 1:09:36 | |
to the brother who helped design | 1:09:39 | |
the White House in Washington DC. | 1:09:40 | |
(applause) | 1:09:43 | |
To the very brother Julian Abel who helped design | 1:09:47 | |
West Campus here at Duke University. | 1:09:52 | |
My people are a beautiful people. | 1:09:57 | |
My people have a spirit that is undying. | 1:10:01 | |
My people are universal. | 1:10:05 | |
A man of African descent Alexander Pushkin, | 1:10:09 | |
is the father of modern Russian literature. | 1:10:12 | |
My people have built airships, | 1:10:17 | |
my people built the lemon squeezer | 1:10:20 | |
for those of you that love to drink | 1:10:22 | |
a nice cold glass of lemonade in the summertime. | 1:10:24 | |
We made the pencil sharpener, the stoplight | 1:10:31 | |
and the list continues into every field of human endeavor. | 1:10:34 | |
So let's come of age and destroy stereotypes. | 1:10:39 | |
Let's love one another, let's believe in one another, | 1:10:44 | |
respect and develop our human bonds | 1:10:49 | |
so that we can be a human family, | 1:10:52 | |
so that we can be the example of the human beings | 1:10:58 | |
that love one another the way God intended us | 1:11:02 | |
to love one another as brothers and sisters | 1:11:06 | |
irregardless of our beautiful hues. | 1:11:09 | |
Thank you. | 1:11:12 | |
(applause) | 1:11:13 | |
- | I am very honored to have the opportunity | 1:11:31 |
to speak on the topic, what the dream means to me | 1:11:34 | |
as an African-American woman of the 1990s. | 1:11:38 | |
When I first thought on this topic, | 1:11:42 | |
many beautiful phrases came to mind. | 1:11:45 | |
I think as black Duke students who have been | 1:11:48 | |
in Speech and Debate and who have heard | 1:11:52 | |
many eloquent speeches any one of us | 1:11:54 | |
could have come up with something that sounds beautiful | 1:11:58 | |
but when I began to probe more deeply | 1:12:02 | |
into the very core of what is important to me, | 1:12:05 | |
in the very essence of a dream, | 1:12:10 | |
I realized that it is one thing to be a talk-oriented person | 1:12:14 | |
and quite another to be an action-oriented person. | 1:12:19 | |
I believe that most of us have at least | 1:12:24 | |
fairly well accomplished the first of those things | 1:12:27 | |
so I will not focus on dreaming in the sense of thinking | 1:12:31 | |
and talking about what should be done. | 1:12:36 | |
The dream for every African-American of this new decade | 1:12:40 | |
must be a dream in which one envisions oneself | 1:12:45 | |
as the key initiator of change. | 1:12:51 | |
I do not believe in dreams where I see less teen pregnancy | 1:12:54 | |
in the black community. | 1:12:59 | |
I believe in dreams where I see myself | 1:13:01 | |
as a pediatrician in the ghettos of Washington DC | 1:13:04 | |
(applause) | 1:13:09 | |
working with disadvantaged black teenage girls | 1:13:11 | |
to lessen teen pregnancy. | 1:13:17 | |
If we all dream of solutions but forget to dream | 1:13:20 | |
that we are the problem solvers, | 1:13:25 | |
then our dreams will never become a reality. | 1:13:28 | |
I'm not going to talk to you about solutions | 1:13:33 | |
but how we as a Duke community, | 1:13:36 | |
as an African-American community can be | 1:13:39 | |
and must be the problem solvers. | 1:13:43 | |
Although we are a small black community here at Duke, | 1:13:47 | |
we have tremendous power and knowledge therefore | 1:13:50 | |
we have the ability to envision ourselves | 1:13:56 | |
as the key initiators of change. | 1:13:59 | |
We are very accustomed to patting ourselves on the back | 1:14:03 | |
for the accomplishments we make in academics, | 1:14:07 | |
in service organizations etc but it is time | 1:14:10 | |
for us to have some constructive criticism of ourselves. | 1:14:14 | |
Many of us do not even know the name | 1:14:20 | |
of one black child in Durham. | 1:14:22 | |
We have not led or created one organization | 1:14:25 | |
to improve the situation of our race | 1:14:30 | |
and we spend more time on the phone with one another | 1:14:32 | |
than we do talking to black teenage high school students. | 1:14:36 | |
(applause) | 1:14:40 | |
The dream for African-Americans especially at Duke | 1:14:46 | |
is a dream for action. | 1:14:51 | |
It is a dream for the courage | 1:14:54 | |
to do something radical for our race. | 1:14:56 | |
A dream that some problem take your pick | 1:14:59 | |
will end and it will end because we stopped it. | 1:15:03 | |
Not many of us can say that and that has to change. | 1:15:08 | |
I challenge us not simply to dream | 1:15:13 | |
but to follow our leaders like Dr. King | 1:15:17 | |
by doing our best to create realities. | 1:15:20 | |
Lastly as an African-American woman, I saved this for last | 1:15:25 | |
because my primary defining characteristic | 1:15:32 | |
is as an African-American and secondly as a woman | 1:15:35 | |
but as an African-American sister the dream for us | 1:15:39 | |
is sisterhood and support for one another. | 1:15:44 | |
We do not all belong to a sorority | 1:15:49 | |
but we do all belong to a sisterhood | 1:15:51 | |
in which we must stop the pettiness | 1:15:55 | |
and learn to be supportive. | 1:15:58 | |
(applause) | 1:16:00 | |
Because when we disrespect and degrade one another, | 1:16:11 | |
we all end up looking like fools to the rest of the world. | 1:16:15 | |
(applause) | 1:16:20 | |
Including to black men who in turn may feel licensed | 1:16:21 | |
to make fools of us. | 1:16:29 | |
(applause) | 1:16:31 | |
If we as African-American women make fools of ourselves, | 1:16:38 | |
why shouldn't they? | 1:16:45 | |
I believe in the black family because we as black women | 1:16:47 | |
are the womb but we are not the seed of the race. | 1:16:53 | |
Now we are not the source of all the problems | 1:16:57 | |
in the black family but one of the most important ways | 1:17:00 | |
to rebuild the black family is through rebuilding dignity | 1:17:03 | |
and supportiveness in black women. | 1:17:08 | |
(applause) | 1:17:11 | |
United we stand and divided we fall. | 1:17:16 | |
Black women we must respect ourselves | 1:17:21 | |
so that we can command respect. | 1:17:25 | |
(applause) | 1:17:28 | |
I believe in the dream. | 1:17:33 | |
I believe in African-American women | 1:17:35 | |
and I believe in African-American men | 1:17:38 | |
but most of all I believe that I will | 1:17:42 | |
and we must take action to make dreams come true | 1:17:46 | |
and that is what the dream means to me. | 1:17:51 | |
Thank you. | 1:17:54 | |
(applause) | 1:17:55 | |
- | That's what the dream means to them | 1:18:19 |
and that's what it means to each and every one of us. | 1:18:23 | |
At this time we will be favored | 1:18:27 | |
with two musical selections from the modern | 1:18:29 | |
Black Mass Choir of Duke University | 1:18:32 | |
under the capable direction of Eric T Dozier. | 1:18:34 | |
Let's give them a hand as they come. | 1:18:38 | |
(applause) | 1:18:40 | |
(organ music) | 1:18:47 | |
The song says down on my knees when trouble rise | 1:19:42 | |
I ask the Lord to be my guide. | 1:19:46 | |
He promised me he would come and see about me. | 1:19:49 | |
All I have to do is tell him all about my troubles. | 1:19:52 | |
I'm glad that I serve a God who cares. | 1:19:56 | |
Hello somebody. | 1:19:59 | |
I'm glad that I serve a God who loves me | 1:20:01 | |
in spite of myself, pray for us. | 1:20:04 | |
(organ music) | 1:20:08 | |
(clapping) | 1:20:17 | |
♪ Down on my knee ♪ | 1:20:23 | |
♪ I ask the lord ♪ | 1:20:28 | |
♪ He promised me ♪ | 1:20:31 | |
♪ Tell him all about my troubles ♪ | 1:20:38 | |
♪ Tell him all about my troubles ♪ | 1:20:42 | |
♪ Tell him ♪ | 1:20:46 | |
♪ Down on my knees ♪ | 1:20:51 | |
♪ I ask the lord ♪ | 1:20:55 | |
♪ He promised ♪ | 1:20:58 | |
♪ Tell him all about my troubles yeah ♪ | 1:21:05 | |
♪ How I've been hurt ♪ | 1:21:09 | |
♪ I've been bruised ♪ | 1:21:11 | |
♪ Down on my knees ♪ | 1:21:13 | |
♪ Cast all your cares upon him ♪ | 1:21:20 | |
♪ For I know the lord he can handle them ♪ | 1:21:23 | |
♪ There's nothing too hard for my God ♪ | 1:21:27 | |
♪ To work out if I ♪ | 1:21:29 | |
♪ No no no no yeah ♪ | 1:21:32 | |
♪ Tell the lord ♪ | 1:21:38 | |
♪ Down on ♪ | 1:21:40 | |
♪ Down on my knees ♪ | 1:21:44 | |
♪ I ask the lord ♪ | 1:21:49 | |
♪ He promised me ♪ | 1:21:53 | |
♪ Tell him all about my troubles yeah ♪ | 1:22:00 | |
♪ How I've been hurt I've been bruised ♪ | 1:22:03 | |
♪ Down on ♪ | 1:22:08 | |
♪ I respect his glory and Jesus Christ ♪ | 1:22:14 | |
♪ He's the one who save my life ♪ | 1:22:17 | |
♪ He'll make everything whole if I ♪ | 1:22:21 | |
♪ Tell him all about my troubles yeah ♪ | 1:22:25 | |
♪ How I've been hurt I've been bruised ♪ | 1:22:30 | |
♪ Down on ♪ | 1:22:34 | |
♪ Down on my knees ♪ | 1:22:36 | |
♪ Down on my knees ♪ | 1:22:38 | |
♪ I ask the lord ♪ | 1:22:43 | |
♪ Please please be my guide ♪ | 1:22:46 | |
♪ Tell him I've been hurt and bruised ♪ | 1:22:54 | |
♪ Tell him all about my troubles yeah ♪ | 1:22:57 | |
♪ Down on ♪ | 1:23:01 | |
♪ I'm gonna tell the lord all about it ♪ | 1:23:07 | |
♪ Down on my knees ♪ | 1:23:12 | |
♪ I'm gonna tell the lord all about it ♪ | 1:23:14 | |
♪ Down on my knees ♪ | 1:23:18 | |
♪ Help me sing choir ♪ | 1:23:21 | |
♪ I'm gonna tell the lord ♪ | 1:23:23 | |
♪ I'm gonna tell the lord ♪ | 1:23:28 | |
♪ I've been hurt, I've been bruised ♪ | 1:23:30 | |
♪ Help me sing it out ♪ | 1:23:36 | |
♪ I've been hurt, I've been bruised ♪ | 1:23:45 | |
♪ Tell him tell him ♪ | 1:23:56 | |
♪ What you gonna do ♪ | 1:23:59 | |
♪ I'm gonna tell the lord all about it ♪ | 1:24:14 | |
♪ All about it ♪ | 1:24:16 | |
♪ All about it all about it ♪ | 1:24:17 | |
♪ I've got to tell the lord ♪ | 1:24:21 | |
♪ Down on ♪ | 1:24:27 | |
♪ Tell him tell him tell him ♪ | 1:24:31 | |
♪ I've got to tell him ♪ | 1:24:37 | |
♪ I've got to tell him ♪ | 1:24:41 | |
♪ Treat me wrong, I'm gonna tell him ♪ | 1:24:47 | |
♪ I've been misunderstood ♪ | 1:24:51 | |
♪ I've got to tell him, I'm gonna tell him ♪ | 1:24:54 | |
♪ I've got to tell him, I'm gonna tell the lord ♪ | 1:25:02 | |
♪ For he cares about me so ♪ | 1:25:06 | |
♪ I've go to tell him ♪ | 1:25:10 | |
♪ I'm gonna pray and tell the lord ♪ | 1:25:12 | |
♪ Tell him all about my troubles ♪ | 1:25:15 | |
♪ Tell him all about my troubles yeah ♪ | 1:25:18 | |
♪ How I've been hurt I've been bruised ♪ | 1:25:21 | |
♪ Tell him about my troubles ♪ | 1:25:24 | |
♪ How you treat my people wrong you do ♪ | 1:25:25 | |
♪ How you push me to the back of the bus ♪ | 1:25:29 | |
♪ How you treat me wrong ♪ | 1:25:33 | |
♪ I'm gonna tell him I'm gonna tell him ♪ | 1:25:36 | |
♪ I'm gonna tell the lord ♪ | 1:25:38 | |
♪ I'm gonna tell Jesus ♪ | 1:25:44 | |
♪ Tell the lord, tell the lord ♪ | 1:25:48 | |
♪ Down on ♪ | 1:25:52 | |
♪ Tell the lord ♪ | 1:25:57 | |
♪ Tell him all about your troubles ♪ | 1:26:00 | |
♪ Tell him all about your troubles ♪ | 1:26:03 | |
♪ Down on ♪ | 1:26:07 | |
♪ Down on my ♪ | 1:26:18 | |
♪ Down on my knees ♪ | 1:26:21 | |
(applause) | 1:26:32 | |
Come on and tell the lord thank you. | 1:26:37 | |
(applause) | 1:26:39 | |
Hallelujah. | 1:26:40 | |
(organ music) | 1:26:52 | |
(choir singing) | 1:27:37 | |
♪ My storage is empty ♪ | 1:31:51 | |
♪ And I am available to you ♪ | 1:31:54 | |
♪ My storage is empty ♪ | 1:32:06 | |
♪ And I am available to you ♪ | 1:32:10 | |
♪ You know that my storage is empty ♪ | 1:32:22 | |
♪ And I am available to you ♪ | 1:32:26 | |
(applause) | 1:32:55 | |
- | Let's give the Black Mass choir another hand | 1:33:45 |
(applause) | 1:33:47 | |
The words of the song said my storage is empty | 1:34:09 | |
and Lord I'm available to you. | 1:34:12 | |
That should be our prayer this evening, | 1:34:14 | |
a prayer of dedication Lord I'm available to you | 1:34:17 | |
to make the dream a reality. | 1:34:19 | |
At this time we will have an introduction of our speaker | 1:34:22 | |
by Arthur Williams, a student here at Duke University | 1:34:26 | |
who has established himself in our community | 1:34:32 | |
as one who not only commands respect | 1:34:36 | |
but lives a life that's indicative of respect. | 1:34:39 | |
Someone who was working to make the dream a reality, | 1:34:42 | |
an individual who was reaching out not only to see | 1:34:45 | |
what he can get for himself | 1:34:48 | |
but reaching out to the community, | 1:34:50 | |
reaching out to touch someone | 1:34:52 | |
to make this world a better place. | 1:34:54 | |
At this time the introduction of our speaker, | 1:34:55 | |
by my friend my comrad and a nice person, | 1:34:58 | |
Mr. Arthur Williams. | 1:35:03 | |
(applause) | 1:35:05 | |
- | It is not always that we get a chance to hear an orator | 1:35:11 |
who has transcended life's many obstacles | 1:35:16 | |
to reach such a heightened level of academic excellence | 1:35:19 | |
and moral stature. | 1:35:24 | |
We have with us tonight a man who has accomplished | 1:35:26 | |
both of these feats to become what Dr. Martin Luther King | 1:35:29 | |
called a drum major. | 1:35:34 | |
Dr. C Erik Lincoln is a sociologist, educator and author. | 1:35:37 | |
Dr. Lincoln is internationally recognized | 1:35:46 | |
as an authority on the sociology of black religion | 1:35:49 | |
and on the sociology of race | 1:35:54 | |
and ethnic relations in the United States. | 1:35:56 | |
He has lectured at the principle colleges | 1:36:00 | |
and universities of the United States, at Harvard, | 1:36:03 | |
Stanford, Yale, Berkeley, Dartmouth, Brown, | 1:36:08 | |
Fisk, Morehouse, Carleton, Vanderbilt et cetera | 1:36:13 | |
and that many distinguished colleges and universities | 1:36:22 | |
in foreign countries as well. | 1:36:25 | |
England, Italy, Iran, Norway, France, | 1:36:28 | |
Scotland, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and the Middle East. | 1:36:34 | |
Dr. C Erik Lincoln has written or edited 19 books. | 1:36:43 | |
His first being the internationally celebrated study | 1:36:48 | |
entitled the Black Muslims in America | 1:36:52 | |
which shed light on that phenomena, | 1:36:55 | |
the black Muslims which balanced the political activism | 1:36:58 | |
of Dr. Martin Luther King's civil rights movement. | 1:37:02 | |
His recent being race, religion | 1:37:07 | |
and the continuing American dilemma in 1984. | 1:37:11 | |
Several of his books are in current use as texts | 1:37:16 | |
in colleges throughout the United States. | 1:37:19 | |
His other scholarly works appear | 1:37:22 | |
in the Encyclopedia Britannica, the Encyclopedia American, | 1:37:24 | |
the World Book Encyclopedia and other authoritative works | 1:37:30 | |
in religion and sociology. | 1:37:35 | |
More than 100 articles have been published | 1:37:39 | |
in such scholarly journals as Union seminary review, | 1:37:42 | |
Christian century, evangelist theology, | 1:37:48 | |
journal of social issues, Journal of Negro education, | 1:37:54 | |
I better say et cetera. | 1:37:59 | |
Dr. Lincoln is a prolific writer. | 1:38:03 | |
He is also published frequently in the popular press | 1:38:06 | |
including the New York Times Magazine, Redbook, | 1:38:11 | |
Pageant, Cross Crrents, Ebony, New South again et cetera. | 1:38:16 | |
Dr. Lincoln has published poetry | 1:38:22 | |
and his first fictional novel, The Avenue Clayton City | 1:38:25 | |
was published by William Morrow in March 1988. | 1:38:31 | |
He is a frequent guest on radio and television | 1:38:36 | |
and has been guest commentator for CBS. | 1:38:39 | |
Dr. C Erik Lincoln holds five earned degrees | 1:38:44 | |
including The Bachelor of Divinity | 1:38:48 | |
from the University of Chicago | 1:38:50 | |
and the PhD from Boston University. | 1:38:52 | |
He also holds a number of honorary degrees including the LLD | 1:38:56 | |
from Carleton College, the LHD from St. Michael's College | 1:39:01 | |
and from Clark College. | 1:39:07 | |
He has taught at Clark, Fisk, Union Theological Seminary, | 1:39:09 | |
State University, Queens College, the University of Ghana | 1:39:16 | |
and similar institutions. | 1:39:23 | |
He is currently professor of religion and culture | 1:39:25 | |
at Duke University. | 1:39:29 | |
Dr. Lincoln holds membership | 1:39:31 | |
in the usual professional organizations | 1:39:33 | |
associated with his interest. | 1:39:36 | |
In addition he is a fellow of the American Academy | 1:39:39 | |
of Arts and Sciences and he is founding president emeritus | 1:39:43 | |
of the black Academy of Arts and Letters. | 1:39:48 | |
He is listed in Who's Who in America | 1:39:52 | |
and Who's Who in the world. | 1:39:55 | |
In 1984, he was cited for his scholarly work in religion | 1:39:58 | |
by Pope John Paul II. | 1:40:05 | |
Professor Lincoln and his wife Lucy Cook | 1:40:09 | |
abide with their two youngest children at their home, | 1:40:12 | |
Komachi Hill, near Hillsborough, North Carolina. | 1:40:16 | |
He enjoys fishing, writing and cheffing | 1:40:21 | |
at which he feels as if he is reputedly | 1:40:30 | |
a cut above the ordinary. | 1:40:35 | |
Without further ado, let us please give a warm | 1:40:40 | |
and cordial welcome to Dr. C Eric Lincoln. | 1:40:43 | |
(applause) | 1:40:48 | |
(organ music) | 1:41:05 | |
(saxophone music) | 1:41:38 |
(jazzy music) | 0:00 | |
(applause) | 2:11 | |
- | Martin Luther King Jr, the magnificent intruder. | 2:40 |
Martin Luther King meant many different things to the | 2:49 | |
millions of people who remember him. | 2:58 | |
And who feel that the quality of their lives | 3:06 | |
has been impacted by his own. | 3:13 | |
To some he was a saint. | 3:21 | |
To others he was a seer. | 3:27 | |
To still others a pastor, priest or a prophet. | 3:33 | |
To some he was a statesman or a philosopher. | 3:45 | |
To others he was a covert politician. | 3:53 | |
To more than a few above all else he was an intruder. | 4:00 | |
An alien. | 4:11 | |
A man out of time. | 4:14 | |
A man out of character. | 4:18 | |
A man out of harmony with prevailing sentiment. | 4:23 | |
A man outside the bounds of convention. | 4:31 | |
Unrecognized and unaccepted by any of those who's | 4:36 | |
circle of leadership and power he was to challenge. | 4:44 | |
To breach, and to some degree to redirect. | 4:51 | |
It was in this role as intruder a most improbably intruder | 5:00 | |
at that that Martin Luther King was thrust by an | 5:09 | |
inscrutable destiny on the world stage against the | 5:16 | |
back drop of the great American dilemma. | 5:23 | |
My fascination with Martin Luther King as an intruder | 5:31 | |
has to do with a reading of history which makes it clear | 5:37 | |
that the vagaries of human expedience do not always | 5:44 | |
yield themselves to established systems of order | 5:52 | |
and social justice. | 6:00 | |
There is something beyond the human factor which demands | 6:03 | |
and provides for a corrective or the corruption of the | 6:09 | |
human condition. | 6:17 | |
At times and under circumstances not determined by the | 6:19 | |
individual human will of our decorticates and collusions | 6:26 | |
of power by which the few undertake to compel the | 6:33 | |
Ephesians are to manage the destinies of the many. | 6:42 | |
The historical intruder, this intervener in the settled | 6:50 | |
accepted way things are expected to go because that is the | 6:58 | |
way they have been designed to go is never a party to | 7:04 | |
that design, is always an alien. | 7:09 | |
An outsider with no credentials and no references which | 7:15 | |
would be seriously considered by those for whom power | 7:22 | |
is an exclusive prerogative of their private cult. | 7:26 | |
One recalls the simple confession of Amos, | 7:34 | |
as he stood before Amazia the establishment priest | 7:40 | |
at Bethel. | 7:45 | |
Said Amos, I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet. | 7:48 | |
But the Lord took me and said go prophesize. | 8:00 | |
Now therefore hear the word of the Lord. | 8:08 | |
So it was with Martin Luther King. | 8:15 | |
When the credentials of intrusion derive from a source | 8:19 | |
so impeccable and so unimpeachable the intruder can only | 8:25 | |
be called magnificent. | 8:31 | |
For however alien to the existing structures of power | 8:35 | |
and direction his commission transcends the petty | 8:40 | |
charades of human design with a corrective of alt, | 8:47 | |
a corrective more powerful than the human will. | 8:53 | |
His intervention in settled history is the best reminder | 8:59 | |
that the best laid plans of mice and men gain oft aglade. | 9:07 | |
The drama of history is neither predictable nor | 9:20 | |
predetermined because it is played to a script which | 9:28 | |
transcends all human invention. | 9:31 | |
It is here in the drama of real life that the role | 9:37 | |
of the alien intruder takes on compelling significance. | 9:45 | |
For this is a role that is not intended in the closely | 9:51 | |
managed drama of make believe but life is real | 9:59 | |
and life is earnest. | 10:06 | |
Improbably personalities like Martin Luther King are | 10:11 | |
nurtured by improbable institutions. | 10:16 | |
For many millions of people the world over Martin Luther | 10:21 | |
King is the exemplar of the flowering of | 10:27 | |
American christendom. | 10:33 | |
His appearance on stage was tempting for there had been | 10:36 | |
little to give the church in America significant | 10:42 | |
spiritual visibility since the days of the | 10:46 | |
great awakening two centuries ago. | 10:51 | |
The church had great physical presence while the | 10:56 | |
ubiquitous eyes of its great cathedrals and village meeting | 11:02 | |
houses bespangled America from shore to shore. | 11:07 | |
And in more recent times the airwaves have been | 11:14 | |
saturated with the electronic evidence of a sometimes | 11:22 | |
more dubious spiritual presence proclaiming to | 11:30 | |
all and sundry that this is a Christian land. | 11:38 | |
But the Christian commitment had languished both in | 11:46 | |
confidence and credibility ever since our unfortunate | 11:51 | |
adventure in human slavery all on the faith for sanction | 11:58 | |
and made the church hostage to its own indecisiveness. | 12:06 | |
Martin Luther King, a churchman was not deterred by the | 12:14 | |
conventions of the American church. | 12:24 | |
Martin Luther King a churchman was nurtured in the bosom | 12:27 | |
of the black church. | 12:34 | |
He rose above the deficits of an institution as improbable | 12:39 | |
as himself. | 12:45 | |
And he came to lead the church in America to new visions | 12:49 | |
of possibility. | 12:56 | |
He came to lead the church in America to a restructuring | 13:01 | |
of its sense of responsibility. | 13:06 | |
It was Martin Luther King who was to lead the church | 13:12 | |
in American in reputiating the conventions which held | 13:17 | |
it hostage and to help the church to get on with the | 13:23 | |
business of the new Jerusalem it claimed to be. | 13:28 | |
The nation needed to be turned back from a delusion | 13:35 | |
which involved us all in a crippling continuing dilemma. | 13:45 | |
That delusion being the fantasy that a Christian democracy | 13:55 | |
can operate effectively on principles of equality | 14:03 | |
without the practice of equality. | 14:13 | |
The stage was set for Martin Luther King two centuries | 14:18 | |
before he became a tremor in his mother's womb. | 14:24 | |
The grace of God leaves plenty of room for mankind to mount | 14:30 | |
its own initiatives for moral rehabilitation. | 14:39 | |
After that the stones themselves cry out. | 14:46 | |
And God is forced to search for his own witness. | 14:52 | |
A 150 years ago we fought a tragic civil war, | 14:59 | |
brother against brother, Christian against Christian, | 15:07 | |
American against American. | 15:13 | |
When the war was ended the issue of slavery, | 15:16 | |
the issue of men and women holding men and women as | 15:22 | |
chattels had been resolved. | 15:27 | |
The slaves were freed. | 15:33 | |
The mentality that made slavery possible remained intact. | 15:37 | |
We fought another war and then another. | 15:48 | |
In the aftermath of world war two many of the conventions | 15:53 | |
the world had lived by were suddenly obsolete. | 15:59 | |
In colonial Africa, in colonial Asia, in the United States | 16:05 | |
there was a revolutionary spirit abroad. | 16:12 | |
We dared to hope that the world we knew before the vulgar | 16:18 | |
obscenities of the Hitlerian era would never | 16:25 | |
be reconstructed but hope turned to dismay when it | 16:30 | |
became clear that the possibility that the blood we left | 16:39 | |
on the beaches of Europe and the atolls of the pacific | 16:45 | |
would be replicated on the streets of New York | 16:51 | |
and Chicago and Atlanta had become the preeminent concern | 16:55 | |
of the guardians of the establishment. | 17:03 | |
The military was alerted. | 17:07 | |
The federal agencies of intelligence and investigation were | 17:10 | |
staked out among the black citizenry. | 17:15 | |
New reception centers were secretly prepared for the | 17:19 | |
disaffected and an amazing array of mobile armor | 17:25 | |
and sophisticated weaponry was purchased at great cost by | 17:31 | |
the local governments to use against some mysterious enemy | 17:36 | |
who were never identified. | 17:44 | |
We were all the way to a solution of the problem by | 17:47 | |
the only means in which we seem to have confidence. | 17:52 | |
It was at this junction that divine providence once again | 17:58 | |
offered a way out. | 18:09 | |
A higher way in perfect consonance with all our professions | 18:12 | |
of Christian love and brotherhood. | 18:19 | |
From the legions of the disinherited, | 18:23 | |
God raised a prophet. | 18:28 | |
A black man, who had known the jack booth of oppression | 18:33 | |
but whose chosen response was a gospel of love. | 18:39 | |
A black man he was a lowly man. | 18:51 | |
Humble, but full of hope. | 18:57 | |
Sagacious, but full of dreams. | 19:03 | |
Dreams for the future of America. | 19:08 | |
The country he loved so much and longed to see put right. | 19:14 | |
Yes his name was Martin Luther King. | 19:21 | |
He came teaching peace, he came preaching forgiveness. | 19:27 | |
He came showing by precept his own full commitment | 19:33 | |
to everything he asked America to do. | 19:38 | |
He came neither to the Jews nor to the gentiles, | 19:47 | |
neither to the blacks nor to the whites but he came to all | 19:52 | |
who stood in fear of judgment saying this is the way. | 19:59 | |
This is the way. | 20:09 | |
And wherever he went those who had reached the end of | 20:11 | |
their endurance, those who had reached the end of their | 20:16 | |
forbearance found new strength and those who had so lately | 20:22 | |
given themselves to violence on behalf of their country | 20:31 | |
laid down their arms and accepted the violence heaped upon | 20:39 | |
them at the hands of their countrymen. | 20:48 | |
Under the leadership of Martin Luther King, | 20:51 | |
under the banner of nonviolent love, | 20:56 | |
in simple faith and hope and prayer, | 21:00 | |
they sustained each other. | 21:05 | |
In time, those who abused them were confounded by the | 21:09 | |
peace they knew and they offered their bodies to be | 21:16 | |
brutalized and as they gave their lives to be a symbol | 21:22 | |
of their determination. | 21:29 | |
That God's will that men, that man should be men among men. | 21:32 | |
Would be realized. | 21:43 | |
Black and white they were. | 21:45 | |
Men and women they were. | 21:49 | |
Men and women of all faiths bound by the common faith | 21:52 | |
that evil can be overcome. | 21:59 | |
And so they marched and they marched and they marched to, | 22:05 | |
composed by the enormity of their own behavior the agents | 22:12 | |
of death and dehumanization finally leashed their | 22:20 | |
vicious dogs. | 22:27 | |
Finally sheathed their cattle prods. | 22:29 | |
Finally turned in their trenchants | 22:34 | |
and retired from public duty. | 22:40 | |
Martin Luther King had triumphed for America, | 22:46 | |
but America did not overcome. | 22:53 | |
Martin Luther King Jr is dead. | 23:00 | |
A victim of the hatred he struggled to displace with love. | 23:04 | |
A statistic of the violence he tried to teach America | 23:12 | |
to endure. | 23:19 | |
But his memory is enshrined in the hearts of all those | 23:22 | |
touched by his sacrifice and encouraged by his dream. | 23:29 | |
We turn again to the memory of Martin Luther King | 23:40 | |
whose life was itself the clearest expression of what | 23:47 | |
America claimed to be. | 23:53 | |
But has been unable to become. | 23:58 | |
We look again at the America he knew and the America he | 24:04 | |
dreamed about and because we share his dream we wish that | 24:10 | |
somehow he could be here now to help bring us together again | 24:18 | |
and to revive us in the continuing struggle toward | 24:28 | |
the realization of the possibilities he dreamed about. | 24:35 | |
Martin Luther King was an intruder. | 24:41 | |
He was a gatfly. | 24:46 | |
He was a peacemaker. | 24:49 | |
He was a disturber of the status quo. | 24:54 | |
He chatted us with the annoying challenge you can be | 25:04 | |
better than you are. | 25:12 | |
And then he lead us into proving that what he said was true. | 25:15 | |
It cost him his life, it gave us his legacy. | 25:25 | |
He was a magnificent intruder who came to give back to | 25:32 | |
America the honesty, the dignity, | 25:38 | |
the possibility of greatness, the opportunity for | 25:45 | |
righteousness we forfeited in a moment of Faustian madness | 25:50 | |
so long, so long ago. | 25:57 | |
God has not left himself without a witness. | 26:04 | |
God sent us Martin Luther King. | 26:07 | |
Come back Martin Luther King, | 26:16 | |
pray with me and hold my hand and help me still the | 26:21 | |
turbulence, the agitation that shakes me when I walk | 26:27 | |
the streets of Boston. | 26:34 | |
Where once you drew your strength. | 26:37 | |
Oh see how quickly they are the people are forgotten. | 26:41 | |
Do you hear the mothers in the street hail Mary, | 26:47 | |
hail Mary. | 26:53 | |
Ram the buses, kill the niggers, hail Mary, hail Mary, | 26:55 | |
hail Mary. | 27:03 | |
Come back Martin Luther King. | 27:08 | |
And teach us as once you taught us to forgive. | 27:12 | |
Teach us as once you taught us to endure. | 27:20 | |
For we are not assured. | 27:31 | |
The friends we used to know have long since quit the scene. | 27:33 | |
The responsible people, the proper Bostonians whose names | 27:40 | |
go the log of the Mayflower are silent now | 27:47 | |
and remote in retirement from the cause. | 27:56 | |
Who marched with you in Selma, keep to their tips in Boston. | 28:00 | |
Nor are their voices raised to quiet the wear tumult. | 28:08 | |
And guilt. | 28:15 | |
The people respite from the strife. | 28:19 | |
Come back Martin Luther King. | 28:25 | |
See how the famous churches, see how the great cathedrals | 28:30 | |
that once seized your public moment to guild their | 28:40 | |
own pretensions are shuttered for one of a cause, | 28:51 | |
stand silent for one of remorse. | 28:57 | |
Come back Martin Luther King. | 29:02 | |
The dreamers you left with your dream wake not to the | 29:07 | |
test of the dreamer. | 29:12 | |
The dream languishes. | 29:16 | |
The cock crows, I hear the tolling of the bells but there | 29:20 | |
is no sound of trumpets. | 29:28 | |
When shall we overcome? | 29:33 | |
When shall we overcome? | 29:38 | |
Martin Luther King he was a man of love and peace. | 29:45 | |
Who dared to test his own commitments in a critical | 29:52 | |
confrontation with hatred and hostility. | 30:00 | |
He was a man out of time, a man out of place, | 30:08 | |
an improbable person for the test which lay before him. | 30:17 | |
A stranger in his own house. | 30:26 | |
An alien performer in a tragic drama about himself, | 30:31 | |
his people, and his country. | 30:38 | |
He was an improbable intruder. | 30:43 | |
And he was magnificent. | 30:48 | |
Thank you. | 30:54 | |
(applause) | 30:55 | |
- | Let us pray. | 31:31 |
Lord in a broken world, divided and at war with itself | 31:44 | |
heal us of all division. | 31:51 | |
Fill us with your spirit, a spirit of love, | 31:55 | |
a spirit of wisdom and understanding. | 32:02 | |
A spirit in persevering to make real the dream that we | 32:06 | |
have been remembering tonight. | 32:12 | |
A dream of your kingdom. | 32:15 | |
Gift us with respect for our differences. | 32:19 | |
Help us to see them as enriching the whole community. | 32:24 | |
Grant us Lord the sweet communion of your spirit. | 32:30 | |
Show us the way to reconciliation and peace. | 32:36 | |
Show us Lord the way to a closer walk with you. | 32:42 | |
And with one another. | 32:47 | |
We ask all of this in the name of Jesus the Lord, amen. | 32:49 | |
- | This has truly been a celebration and a challenge. | 33:03 |
I had the privilege two times of being personally in | 33:09 | |
attendance with and inspired by Dr. King. | 33:14 | |
The last being in November of 1964 when he addressed | 33:17 | |
an overflow audience in our own Page Auditorium. | 33:23 | |
At that time he expressed the need for a moral | 33:28 | |
and realistic appraisal of the progress of civil rights | 33:31 | |
and concluded that we have come a long long way but that we | 33:35 | |
have a long long way to go. | 33:42 | |
It is appropriate that we continue to share Dr. King's dream | 33:45 | |
with this comment for he further added in our drive to | 33:52 | |
be successful we must involve the students of the community. | 33:58 | |
Now the successors of those students at Duke and NCCU | 34:06 | |
who participated in the sit ins at the lunch counters in | 34:12 | |
downtown Durham in the early 1960s. | 34:16 | |
Dr. King in 1963, the centennial celebration of the | 34:21 | |
emancipation proclamation challenged again so aptly | 34:27 | |
in the title of his book why we can't wait. | 34:30 | |
This celebration this evening has commemorated Dr. King's | 34:36 | |
efforts and enjoins us to work towards to fulfillment of | 34:40 | |
a dream not yet fulfilled. | 34:45 | |
(applause) | 34:51 | |
- | First of all giving all praise, glory, | 35:03 |
and majesty to the creator of this world | 35:04 | |
and giver of all good and perfect gifts. | 35:08 | |
The try one God who made this possible. | 35:11 | |
A magnifier, the Lord for all that has been said here | 35:17 | |
tonight, for all that our hears have heard, | 35:20 | |
our eyes have seen, and our spirits have experienced | 35:24 | |
during this campus wide service of celebration | 35:29 | |
and commemoration. | 35:33 | |
The Lord is indeed great and greatly to be praised. | 35:36 | |
I can only stand here with a heart full of love, | 35:41 | |
full of compassion, full of understanding, | 35:51 | |
full of appreciation for our speakers, | 35:55 | |
student speakers, for all that has heard here tonight | 36:02 | |
but especially for the words of Dr. Cyric Lincoln. | 36:08 | |
His words are word that have substance and words that may | 36:15 | |
not allow you to jump up and down and become excited | 36:21 | |
initially about but provides us with food for thought. | 36:27 | |
Food for thought about who we are, who's we are, | 36:30 | |
where we've come from, and where we are going. | 36:35 | |
As a community the road ahead will not always be easy. | 36:39 | |
As a people the challenge will not always be | 36:47 | |
advantageous for our desire to be upwardly mobile | 36:54 | |
and live in the right side of town and the right house | 36:57 | |
possessing the right number of cars of the right make | 36:59 | |
and having the right material possessions. | 37:03 | |
But this dream requires a cross. | 37:06 | |
In the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr he said | 37:10 | |
the cross we bear precedes the crown we wear. | 37:14 | |
To be a Christian we must take up our cross. | 37:20 | |
With all of its difficulties and agonizing | 37:26 | |
and tension packed content, and carry it until that | 37:33 | |
very cross leaves its marks upon us and redeems us to that | 37:38 | |
more excellent way which comes only, only through suffering. | 37:45 | |
Our challenge tonight is to bear the cross. | 37:54 | |
Our cross is to help someone as we travel along this way | 37:58 | |
then our living will not be in vain. | 38:03 | |
Our cross is to extend ourselves not only until it hurts | 38:08 | |
but until it helps. | 38:12 | |
Sometimes it hurts before it helps but we need to help | 38:16 | |
until it helps. | 38:21 | |
I would like to thank each and every person who participated | 38:24 | |
in this program. | 38:27 | |
Let us always remember that we are to be drum majors | 38:30 | |
for justice, to the incomparable Rodney Wyncoop | 38:33 | |
and the Duke University crowd my accolades to you | 38:38 | |
to the Nth degree. | 38:42 | |
(applause) | ||
To the modern black mass choir of Duke University, | 38:51 | |
the gospel choir of Duke University, | 38:55 | |
to God be the glory for what he continues to do through | 39:00 | |
our ministry of music. | 39:04 | |
To the splendiferous voices of the North Carolina | 39:06 | |
Central Worship and Praise Choir. | 39:11 | |
We thank you and you're always welcome here. | 39:13 | |
(applause) | 39:17 | |
The reason I called you because I know you, | 39:25 | |
I knew that you could sing. | 39:27 | |
And the reason I called them because they could sing | 39:29 | |
and we could come together and celebrate. | 39:32 | |
Now I have a couple announcements. | 39:35 | |
Tomorrow at nine a.m. somebody say nine a.m. | 39:38 | |
Crowd | Nine a.m. | 39:41 |
- | Everybody come to Reynolds Theater, Brian Center for the | 39:43 |
campus wide service. | 39:47 | |
Also tomorrow at 11, there's a rally, | 39:49 | |
city ride rally at the (mumbles) hotel. | 39:53 | |
Somebody say 11 a.m. | 39:56 | |
Crowd | 11 a.m. | 39:58 |
- | Good. | 39:59 |
6:30 p.m. Light Rock, be there. | 40:00 | |
Citywide religious service ML King, | 40:04 | |
Dr. Renita Williams will be the speaker. | 40:06 | |
To David Arkus I thank you, to Dr. Will Willeman, | 40:09 | |
I thank you. | 40:12 | |
To reverend Nancy Perry Clark I thank you. | 40:13 | |
Revered Sue Fricks I thank you. | 40:16 | |
Mrs. Florine Robertson, I thank you. | 40:19 | |
I had to fix my watch. | 40:25 | |
I know what time it is now. | 40:26 | |
To Mr. Eric T. Dozier I thank you. | 40:28 | |
To our speakers, student speakers. | 40:31 | |
Patrick Thomas, we thank you. | 40:33 | |
Afrea, we thank you. | 40:36 | |
(applause) | 40:38 | |
To our president of the black student alliance who gave us | 40:43 | |
that instrumental solo that touched us thank you. | 40:46 | |
(applause) | 40:48 | |
To father Mike Shegrough thank you. | 40:53 | |
To vice president Griffith thank you. | 40:56 | |
And all of are gonna stand and thank Dr. Lincoln. | 40:58 | |
(applause) | 41:01 | |
Come on we can do better than that. | 41:04 | |
(applause) | 41:06 | |
You may be seated. | 41:16 | |
And a special thanks to Dr. Charles Patman, | 41:17 | |
chair of Duke Discrimination Committee for his support. | 41:20 | |
We're about to let out and give you the benediction but | 41:23 | |
I have some presentation to make before I sit down | 41:25 | |
and before we stand up to do the benediction. | 41:28 | |
Eric and the president elect and also the current president | 41:31 | |
of BSA are coming to assist me at this time. | 41:35 | |
This will be done quickly and then we'll have | 41:38 | |
the benediction. | 41:40 | |
First I would like to start with our student speakers. | 41:42 | |
It's good to have help, strong talented help. | 41:49 | |
To me Afrea Emerson, Afrea meaning born at the right time. | 41:53 | |
With the right methods, please come forward. | 42:01 | |
You are a sweetheart and a woman with a message that all | 42:08 | |
of us need to hear. | 42:12 | |
Male, female, black, white, blue, green, yellow. | 42:14 | |
You have something to say and always say it. | 42:16 | |
Speak your heart if you speak nothing else. | 42:19 | |
A small token of our appreciation to you. | 42:22 | |
- | Thank you so much. | 42:25 |
(applause) | ||
- | Mr. Patrick Thomas from Fort Gray. | 42:31 |
A man on the move that is a rough draft of the man | 42:38 | |
that he claims to be. | 42:45 | |
May your days be long and may you always experience | 42:47 | |
the success that this world needs in a young | 42:51 | |
Afro-American man such as yourself, bless you. | 42:54 | |
(applause) | 42:57 | |
To Mrs. Florine Robertson, president of the NAACP | 43:05 | |
Durham Chapter who said before us she will become a slave, | 43:12 | |
she would die and go in her grave. | 43:16 | |
And I believe. | 43:18 | |
And I believe that we have to get a double plot | 43:21 | |
because before I became a slave I'll come to join you too. | 43:23 | |
- | Amen. | 43:26 |
(laughter) | ||
- | Definitely. | 43:28 |
But just a small token of our appreciation for being the | 43:29 | |
person that you are and for being the community leader with | 43:34 | |
spunk, intrepidness, and tenacity. | 43:39 | |
Willing to fight against the odds. | 43:44 | |
Thank you so much. | 43:45 | |
- | Keep praying. | 43:47 |
(applause) | ||
- | And this package was so big I couldn't afford the | 43:52 |
wrapping paper to wrap it but it's for Dr. Cyric Lincoln, | 43:55 | |
please stand up Lincoln. | 43:59 | |
I almost feel like moving away with somebody as great | 44:05 | |
as you when you come as near but to my friend | 44:08 | |
Dr. Lincoln to our friend to a man who says it, | 44:11 | |
and means it and lives it and tries to allow us to realize | 44:18 | |
it, realize what we're about and we should do. | 44:23 | |
A man who says in his class that 99 and a half won't do. | 44:27 | |
And if you plan to do it here you need to go someplace else. | 44:31 | |
A man who demands excellence in all things. | 44:34 | |
An educator, a lecturer, a hymn writer. | 44:38 | |
A singer, a chef, just a man of many talents. | 44:43 | |
To Dr. Cyric Lincoln. | 44:47 | |
(applause) | ||
Do you wanna open it? | 44:55 | |
We're gonna open this and show you what it is. | 44:58 | |
(paper ripping) | 45:01 | |
(applause) | 45:17 | |
It's a piece of art entitled the last supper and at this | 45:27 | |
last supper table you see Frederick Douglass. | 45:31 | |
Martin Luther King Jr. | 45:37 | |
Elijah Mohammed. | 45:39 | |
Marcus Garvey and many other people. | 45:41 | |
Mayor (mumbles), all these great characters. | 45:45 | |
And Dr. Lincoln we couldn't afford to pay you | 45:48 | |
because we don't have eight million dollars | 45:50 | |
and that's still not all you're worth. | 45:52 | |
But this is just a small token of our appreciation for | 45:53 | |
being the person that you are. | 45:56 | |
- | Thank you. | 45:59 |
(applause) | ||
Thank you, can I get a hug too? | 46:03 | |
(applause) | 46:05 | |
Thank you. | ||
- | And now we may stand for our benediction. | 46:12 |
Following this service there is a reception in the | 46:17 | |
Mary Lou Williams Center for Culture. | 46:21 | |
Please come and meet us there and meet Dr. Lincoln | 46:25 | |
and shake his hand and all those good things. | 46:27 | |
- | And now go forth in peace and be a good courage, | 46:36 |
hold fast that which is good, rejoicing in the power of the | 46:40 | |
holy spirit. | 46:44 | |
And may the blessings of God, father, sone and holy spirit | 46:46 | |
be with you all now and forever more. | 46:51 | |
Amen. | 46:54 | |
Crowd | Amen. | |
(classical horns) | 46:57 | |
(chatter) |