Proclamation, march mark MLK Day

The temperature outside refused to budge beyond the high single-digits, but hearts were warm as a handful of Northwest Missouri State University students marched though the chill to the Nodaway County Courthouse to celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Once at the courthouse, the group was joined by Northwest President John Jasinski and Maryville Maryor Glenn Jonagan, who read a proclamation urging Maryville residents to spend the day thinking of King and his epic struggle to end discrimination and race hatred in the United States.

A relatively new tradition at Northwest, the MLK Day observance featured a rousing speech by student Carl Stafford, a senior education major, who paid tribute to the martyred civil rights leader's oft-repeated call for young people to take up the mantle of leadership in a continuing quest for justice, peace and equality.

Stafford drew applause and shouts from the shivering crowd as he removed his heavy jacket in order to speak from the courthouse steps wearing only a lightweight blue dress shirt, slacks and tie.

During the 10-minute talk, Stafford broke down what he viewed as the key components of King's leadership style, which he said was based on confidence, a take-charge attitude, effective goal setting, the ability to learn from failure and a willingness to become fully involved in his cause.

"When you become a leader, you find ways to get involved," Stafford said. "Dr. King participated in 700 public marches and died before he was 40."

Stafford ended his talk by telling his listeners he no longer believed racism exists. He said it was merely a word used to express ignorance, fear and misunderstanding with regard to differing cultures.

"This should be a day of unity and a day of living (King's) dream," Stafford said. "We must all try to live with a good heart and a sense of humanity."

Prior to the march about 50 Northwest students gathered in the J.W. Jones Student Union Ballroom for brunch and a viewing of the documentary film "Cracking the Codes: The System of Racial Inequity."

Through a series of extended comments by educators and activists, the film sought to reveal how hidden factors, such as institutional assumptions, class privilege and mass media stereotyping, lead to internalized racism even in people who want to free themselves from prejudiced attitudes.

Afterward, a panel of students discussed topics addressed in the film.

One of the participants, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity Vice President Zach Ewing, said the movie helped demonstrate how to view attitudes about race "through other people's eyes and to be more open-minded."

He said he was participating in the campus MLK celebration because he believes the King holiday should be considered "a day on and not a day off."

"Instead of just sleeping the day away, we should be out there getting involved," Ewing said.

Another panel member, Tiffany Scantlebury, spoke to the importance of "looking at ourselves so that we quit putting ourselves in a box."

"I want to look past the fact that I'm this nationality or that nationality," she said.