The university's 25th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. commemoration ceremony was held at the School of Public Health last Friday and featured poet, actress and novelist Maya Angelou, among other speakers including President William Brody. A major theme of the event was diversity and racism as enduring, significant issues in society.
Angelou began her speech by discussing the courage to love. She argued that courage is the most important of all virtues, as only with courage can one practice other virtues consistently. The poet emphasized that people often forget how courageous their ancestors were, black or white. She urged students to take responsibility for the space they occupy and to "look past compassion and see community."
Angelou also spoke of the racism that she believes is still prevalent today. She noted that our "Not-yet United" States is still much divided.
"African Americans are still the last hired and the first fired and remain the people who even the most liberal politicians joke about," she said.
Angelou charged all people with the duty of altering the world, and living life with compassion, humanity and class.
"JHU has not had a good relationship with the Baltimore community, especially in East Baltimore. People living in the area have felt like guinea pigs in experiments. There has been a legacy of distrust. The ceremony is a step in the right direction towards talking about issues of race and diversity. It also gives members of the community, black and white, a chance to see part of our culture," MLK Commemoration Chair Levi Watkins, Jr., said.
Watkins further commented on the strides the University has made in terms of racial diversity. Different eating facilities were used for blacks and whites, and black and white babies were treated in different areas in the past. Though things have changed significantly, Watkins said that Martin Luther King's dream of black and whites being unified is "sometimes more of a nightmare or a fantasy."
Watkins, who was personally acquainted with Martin Luther King, was the first African- American to become Hopkins Hospital's chief resident in cardiac surgery. He began the MLK Commemoration Ceremony in 1982 after speaking at Harvard University's MLK ceremony. It was then, he said, that he realized the necessity of Hopkins having its own tribute to the legendary civil rights leader.
Watkins explained that Angelou chosen to be this year's keynote speaker because of her ability to captivate the audience with her commanding presence and words. Additionally, as Angelou's health has been in question lately, he hoped to give the community the opportunity to hear her again before she stops speaking publicly.
At the ceremony, Watkins also paid a tribute to Coretta Scott King, who died on Jan. 31, 2006. In the form of a "celestial phone call," he spoke to King and thanked for all the work she had accomplished in continuing her husband's activism and helping the poor and disenfranchised.
Reverend Uwe C. Scharf, director of the Department of Pastoral Care at the Hopkins Hospital, also spoke at the ceremony. Scharf stressed the importance of carrying on Martin Luther King's policy of peace, nonviolence, and clear resistance. He argued that today, especially, we should strive to be agents of peace in a world where there is not only violence in the Middle East and Far East but also here at home on the East side of Baltimore.
Watkins also made mention of the recent Sigma Chi controversy that took place on Homewood campus. Also included in the ceremony was the presentation of awards to employees at Hopkins who have helped the community. Brody was presented with the Ideals Award because of how he has dealt with diversity issues at Homewood campus.
The 78-year-old keynote speaker has won many prodigious awards for her achievements. Angelou was been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for her collection of poems entitled, "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water `Fore I Die" and an Emmy for her role in "Roots." She won a Grammy Award for her reading of the poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at President Clinton's inauguration.
"[Angelou's] speech was really inspirational, not only in regard to race but also her outlook on life," said freshman Leyla Isik.
In the past, several high-profile individuals have been keynote speakers, including Rosa Parks, Stevie Wonder, Jesse Jackson, John Lewis, Coretta Scott King and James Earl Jones.
