Dr. George Curry Helps FMU Celebrate Martin Luther King
Jasper Dewitt
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Campus
On Thursday, January 14, 2010, FMU had their 12th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. The theme of the event was celebrating the legacy, and living the dream of Dr. Martin luther King. The keynote speaker Dr. George Curry came and spoke to Francis Marion as to how we could succeed in both objectives. He first adressed in his speach that he would not try to talk about what Martin Luther King would say if he was still alive. " The truth is nobody knows, but fortunately we know what he said and did when he was alive. Thats better than a mere conjecture," said Dr. Curry. Dr. Curry's speech uplifted many people that were listening in the audience. It really hit home for the older members of the audience when Dr. Curry talked about is background. Dr. Curry brought up in his speech how Dr. King personally benefited him living in his hometown Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He said " I had to road in the back of the bus, use toilets marked colored if there were any bathrooms for us at all." Curry even talked about his early start in journalisim. He mentioned that the newspaper ads in the Tuscaloosa news were segregated, and he could not get a job at Sports Illustrated. Curry brought to the people's attention to show them that the south is progressing from the prejudiced mentallity. In fact, he made a statement that "The schools are more integrated in the south today than any other region in the nation."
Curry did a good job in showing the people the changes that Dr. King accomplished, but many parts of his speech showed them that they should build upon his work. " We do not honor Dr. King by simply reflecting on his life, we honor him by acting to eradicate some of the problems that plague our country." He clarified to the people that america does carry the characteristics of a post racial society because Barrack Obama was elected President. He backed up his statement by mentioning a comment that a white minister in Arizona said about praying that President obama to dying and going to hell. One of the points that Curry emphasized the most was the practice of integration. He made a short reference to FMU's diversity policy. He stated FMU's policy that "FMU recruits, hire, train, and promote employees without discrimination because of race, religion, color, national orgin, sex, physical disability or age." He emphasized on the school's policy in taking affirmative action to prevent actions of discrimination. " Thats all affirmative action is, it is not race based, or sex based. It merely means that you can consider race, gender and other factors when you look at qualified poeple.
Curry did a good job in showing the people the changes that Dr. King accomplished, but many parts of his speech showed them that they should build upon his work. " We do not honor Dr. King by simply reflecting on his life, we honor him by acting to eradicate some of the problems that plague our country." He clarified to the people that america does carry the characteristics of a post racial society because Barrack Obama was elected President. He backed up his statement by mentioning a comment that a white minister in Arizona said about praying that President obama to dying and going to hell. One of the points that Curry emphasized the most was the practice of integration. He made a short reference to FMU's diversity policy. He stated FMU's policy that "FMU recruits, hire, train, and promote employees without discrimination because of race, religion, color, national orgin, sex, physical disability or age." He emphasized on the school's policy in taking affirmative action to prevent actions of discrimination. " Thats all affirmative action is, it is not race based, or sex based. It merely means that you can consider race, gender and other factors when you look at qualified poeple.
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