Posted by Clinton School student JAMES SZENHER – Six UACS students left Little Rock Thursday afternoon, headed for Memphis to participate the next day in a march for recommitment to mark the 40th anniversary of the day on which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed. As we were spending the night in Cleveland Mississippi, home of UACS student James Mitchell, we could not pass up the opportunity to visit the famous Po’ Monkey’s Lounge, one of the last remaining jook joints (yes, that’s how it’s spelled, at least locally) in the delta. It was a fitting precursor to the march the next day, an exceptionally celebratory place with an integrated and interactive crowd of different races, something that frankly I wish I came into contact with more often.
On Friday before the march, we ate lunch at Gus’s Fried Chicken, one of my favorite local establishments and the home of the best fried chicken in the world, at least, according to GQ Magazine, USA Today, and myself. While standing around waiting for our table, we noticed a familiar face at a large table full of suits: Senator John McCain. The presidential candidate had spoken in town earlier in the day, a reconciliatory gesture, admitting he was wrong by not initially supporting the federal holiday for Dr. King. McCain stayed in Memphis for the march, but kept a pretty low profile, and didn’t participate in any of the actual ceremony events.
The march began at City Hall with a rally including brief remarks and appearances from notable leaders such as Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, BET CEO Debra Lee, and radio host Michael Baisden. Less famous but equally notable were many members of the sanitation worker’s union who were striking with King 40 years before. The speakers reminded the crowd that the march was not aimed at protest, but was intended to be a somber, silent march; a time for reflection before recommitment. This recommitment, they said, was crucial, and much needed today. They drew comparisons between the 40 years that have passed since King’s death and the 40 years spent wandering in the desert by Israelites as written in the Bible, emphasizing the need to ‘wake up’ so that through action, Martin Luther King’s dream can become a reality.
Given the large number of Barack Obama t-shirts in the crowd, it was probably inevitable that the candidate’s name came up among some of the speakers, but the organizers had made a clear effort to make this an MLK event, not an Obama one.
From City Hall, what looked to be about 1,000 people marched towards the Lorraine Motel, now part of the Civil Rights Museum. The ‘silent’ march was mostly effective, though some were moved to sing or chant phrases like ‘keep the dream alive.’ Once everyone arrived on the lawn in front of the Motel/museum, more speakers addressed the crowd from the balcony of the Motel, most notably Bernice King and Martin Luther King III, children of the late Dr. King. Their speeches were powerful and inspiring, and it seemed I was not the only person in the crowd moved by their remarks, which seemed to follow the theme of moving beyond the past 40 years and working together to turn dreams into action. After a moment of silence, Dr. King’s children released a dove into the crowd, and soon afterwards the crowds began to head home.
Though all of us are under high stress right now with the convergence of final exams, and preparation for International and Capstone projects, I think those of us who went would all agree that the time spent in Memphis was a much needed chance to reconnect with why we’re at this school in the first place, and a reminder of those who have fought so hard before we were born to make this country and this world better for all of us.
–Clinton School students, James Szenher, Chance Williams, Molly Brunkow, James Mitchell, Hunter Riley and Carly Benkov participated in the march.