Martin Luther King Jr.’s message still lives on today. Jerome Library is home to 526 books mentioning him – including being the sole subject of 212 and having his writing appear in 111.
On Friday, a panel of scholars honored King’s legacy by discussing issues of civil rights and social justice and applying them to issues like Jena Six and hip-hop.
Jena Six illustrated racism and a lack of justice in our American judicial system, Ethnic Studies Instructor Ramona Coleman-Bell said.
Coleman-Bell went to Jena, La., in September to protest the charges against the teenagers known as the Jena Six.
The six were charged with attempted murder after beating a white student after several racially motivated incidents in the small Louisiana town. One event occurred a day after a black student sat under a tree that was known to be a ‘whites only’ tree. The following day, three nooses hung from the tree, raising racial tensions in the town.
Coleman-Bell traveled to Jena to make a statement about the injustices.
‘The reason I went down there was because it’s frustrating looking at the judicial system and how people of color are treated,’ Coleman-Bell said.
Jena is just one example of judicial injustices suffered by black people this year, Coleman-Bell said.
One sign she saw in Jena read ‘6 cases out of 600,000.’
Coleman-Bell said she met many people there who had stories of friends and family members whose experiences mirrored the events in Jena.
‘It seemed to be the experience of black men everywhere in America,’ Coleman said.
Rodney Coates, professor of sociology and gerontology at Miami University, focused on civil rights movements, hip-hop and welcoming the differences of others.
Coates opened up his presentation emphasizing the difference between civil and equal rights.
‘No one I know wants to be equal, but everyone wants to be free,’ Coates said. ‘I want to be the same as who? What mirror must I look into to get to this place?’
Coates wants people to embrace each other’s differences. ‘I can’t ask you to celebrate my blackness if I won’t celebrate your whiteness,’ Coates said.
Winifred Stone, former associate professor of ethnic studies, said she doesn’t believe people should try to ignore issues of race or ethnicity.
‘People believe we should be colorblind, but you can’t get rid of all our hues,’ Stone said.
Coates doesn’t view Black History Month as a just a month for black people.
‘Next month should be All People’s History Month,’ Coates said. ‘All life began in Africa, white people shouldn’t be embarrassed to celebrate their ancestors.’
Coates also critiqued what hip-hop has become, saying it used to be about real people and issues.
‘Social and political protest was replaced with sex and violence,’ Coates said.
Money has become the new motive of rappers, says Coates, who quoted hip-hop artist Lauryn Hill, saying, ‘Hip-hop started in the heart, now everybody trying to chart.’
‘Hip-hop had an organic link to the community; now it is a link to commercialism,’ Coates said.
