Southeast Missouri State University - Sagamore Yearbook (Cape Girardeau, MO)

Page 30 text:

I Have cr Dream . . ivil Rights leader Remembered lonuory QO, 19-So wos the first time thot the birthdoy of the Rev, Dr, Morrin Luther King, Jr. hos been notionolly recognized. Even though SEMO hod ciosses thot doy, students stili poid tribute to Or. King ond turnoot tor the ceremonies honoring Dr. King wos high. But for those who orent owore of the reoson for hoving o doy in his honor, the rest ot this orticle is for you. Dr. King wos born in Arionto, Georgie, on lonuory 15, 1929. His iorher, olso o minister, instiiled in him o sense of reverence from on eoriy oge, Dr. King grodooted from Morehouse College in his notive town ot she oge of19 ond received his doctorote in the-oiogy or the oge oi Qo. King orgonized soon otter the Southern Christion Leodership Conference CSCLC5 ond summoned together o number ot block leoders. As president of the SCLC, he sought to ossist other communities in orgonizing protests ogoinst discriminotion ond boosting voter registroiion. Dr, King wos more thon just o block civil rights leoder. He led o foce of Americon people to o position of dignity ond occeptonce, something which wosnt the cose in the 19505, when Dr. King begon his crusode, He wos o prime motivotor of the 382-doy-long Montgomery, Aiobomo bps boycott of 1956, which led the US. Supreme Court to declore the Alobomo lows requiring bus segregotion unconstitutionoi. Dr, King ond the SCLC continued to protest ogoinst discriminotion throughout the South ond wos even orrested mony times for his ottempts to bring obour the relotive freedom thot oil citizens enjoy todoy. Even imprisoned, he could not be silenced. During o 1963 moss protest in Birminghom. Alobczmo, obout unioir hiring procrices ond discriminotion by deportment store iocilities. Dr, King ond other non-violent protestors were toced with police brutolity such os being hosed down with woter or high pressure, being ortocised by police dogs ond being beoten with nightsticlss omong other things. They were eventuoiiy orrested, but Dr, Kings iletter From A Birrninghom loilf' set she record stroighr: thot the struggle for equolity wos not over, lt hod oniy just begun. Lore-r in 19698, Dr. King wos the keynote speoiser ot the historic Morch On Woshington, in which his speech, l Hove A Dreomj' moved the opproximore SGODOO porticiponts there ond moved miiiions more elsewhere, Dr, King's ochievements Sed to his ocquisition oi the Nobel Peoce Prize in i9oci. However, he stiil wosn't sotistied. ln 1965, he led o voter registrotion compoign which eventuolly congeoled into the tomous Selmo CAio.P to Montgomery CAlo.D Freedom Morch. Despite jeering from people on the sidelines, Dr. King hod the support of mony people, including Tony Bennett, o populor white recording ortist of thot doy. He morched with Dr. King on thot doy, Dr. King went to Chicogo to lounch o slum rehobilitotion progrom, but he wos greeted coldly by young, ongry blocks who felt thot non-vioience wos much too slow o method, These groups odvocoted violence ond revolution os o remedy to the problem ot rociol ineguity. Dr. King reolized thot he must concentrote his efforts on o more generol couse: world peoce. He hod o dreom of universol peoce ond brotherhood ot o time when so much conflict ond unrest existed in the worid. The United Stores wos the greotest purveyor of violence in the world, Dr. King once sold, So he wonted to fuse the forces of the civil rights movement with those who simply wonted peoce. Dr, King, in soying this, become o lsey protestor of the wor in Vietnom. His efforts were instrumentol in roising the sociol consciousness of o notion in desperote need of it. Besides octively speaking for civil rights ond speolsing ogoinst Vietnom, he olso compoigned for o wor on poverty. Dr. King tied the issue of wot with thot of Vietnom, Money thot could hove been helping the notions poor wos going to send mony young men to their deoths in o wot thor wos not exploined, occording to Dr, King, One such move by Dr, King in his wor on poverty led to his own cosuolty. ihe trogedy hoppened or Memphis, Tennessee, where he wos pionning o morch which lent support for cr sonitotion worisers' strilse there. On April 3, 1968. he toid o church congregotion, iiWell, I dont know whot wili hoppen now - out it reolly doesnt motterf' The next evening. Dr, King wos lsiiled by on ossossins builet. A mon dedicoted to non-violent protest os o meons to peoce met his end vioientiy, Mony people felt thot molsing the birthdote of the Rev. Dr. Mortin Luther King, Jr. o notionol holidoy would provide ot leost one doy during the yeor when ol! Americons would hove the opportunity to reflect on the ldeols which Dr, King lived ond died for. Poy tribute to him on his birthdoy ond remember the dreom yeor round. M David Dmndon King Tribute I

Page 29 text:

Find Roloxcttion Mony left the routine of school tojoin the horror thot owoited them ot o neorby theotre. l-louse wos one of severol horror movies to be on the screen this yeor. closs schedule, ond I know thot l'll olwoys be oble to hove weekends ond holidoys off, sold Koren Fox, o student secretory in the Home Economics deportment. Occosionolly, SEMO students escoped compus life by going to the movies. Locol cinemos offered o wide voriety of films to entertoin every toste. Sylvester Stollone fons sow him come on strong in two successful sequels, Rocky lV ond First Blood: Rombo ll. Stollone mode potriotism populor os he socked it to Commies of oll shopes ond sizes in ond out of the ring, Critics ponned both, but fons couldn't get enough os they flocked to the films. For blood ond gore fons, Nightmore on Elm Street ond Nightmore ll provided lots of nightmore moteriol os Freddy proved to be the mon of bod dreoms for o crowd of terrorized teenogers. Both films received mixed reviews, but the reoction ot the box office wos o resounding offirmotive. Steven Spielberg olso scored big with two films, both rodicol deportures from his usuol odventure flicks, In the comedy Bock to the Future, Michoel J. Fox trovels bock in time ond winds up ploying motchmoker to his future porents, not olwoys successfully. ln The Color Purple, Whoopi Goldberg shines os the bottered womon who finds peoce ond sister love offer o lifetime of obuse. For once, critics ond fons ogreed thot the films were superb, ond Spielberg roked in profits ond Goldberg took home o Golden Globe oword for her performonce. Finolly, Robert Redford ond Meryl Streep teomed up os the ultimote movie couple in Out of Africo, o cinemotogropher's dreom of o love story set in Kenyo. A glorious viewing experience, Out of Africo wos o disoppointment ot the box office despite strong reviews. Throughout the yecrr, the Town Plozo Cinemo offered on orroy of films to choose from, Although the cinemo didn't offer student rotes, it oppeoled to students os well os the rest of the community. Student Life

Page 31 text:

Kyu-Mok Snlcklln Xw1XX , 4 4, 11 xi felis Student Life