AAAL 2027: Invited Colloquium
Convened by Dr. Vicki Crawford
Where Do We Go from Here: Engaging the Speeches and Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Context of Our Times
Convener:
Dr. Vicki Crawford, Morehouse College
Vicki.crawford@morehouse.edu
Colloquium Abstract
This colloquium will explore the language of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. through his sermons, speeches and writings while reflecting on the continuing relevance and significance of his ideas in today’s world. As one of the most powerful voices of the twentieth century, King drew heavily on the rich African American rhetorical tradition which is anchored in African American preaching and the heritage and leadership within black church communities. In this manner, he effectively shaped and inspired public discourse as well as individual and collective action. In King’s final book, Where Do We Go from Here? Chaos or Community, he issued a powerful critique of American society, pointing out the persistence of what he called the “triple evils” of racism, poverty and militarism. He argued that if left unchecked, these interconnected “evils” would result in “violent coannihilation” and ultimately lead to the demise of society. While King addressed these “giant triplets,” over half a century ago, we still wrestle with these and other injustices in our twenty-first century world. King’s ideas and models of social protest are not only alive, but growing in vitality and popularity in our 21st century world.
Sustaining the Work of Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Classroom
Leah Creque, Morehouse College
leah.creque@morehouse.edu
Drawing upon the primary sources contained within the Morehouse College Martin
Luther King, Jr. Collection, acquired by the college, in 2006, this presentation will discuss strategies for incorporating King’s writing within the undergraduate humanities classroom. While King’s writings are increasingly included in English composition textbooks, their use often remains limited to basic writing instruction and does not provide a broad-based learning experience incorporating critical reading and advanced composition theory. Additionally, students lack exposure to the higher skills of contextual analysis and interrogation of literary treatments of social justice issues. Also, this presentation will include insight from the development of a capstone course, The Nobel Laureate: Diversity, Discipline and Leadership: Imparting Reading, Writing, and Literacy in Action. Multidisciplinary and global in perspective, the course examines King’s 1964 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture titled The Quest for Peace and Justice. Finally, the presenter will share insights from a recent global meeting of the National Collegiate Honors Council’s Partners in Peace: A Collaboration with the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo, Norway.
The Beyond of Vietnam: Martin Luther King’s “A Time to Break Silence” at 60; or “Let Me Clear My Throat”
Maurice O. Wallace, Rutgers University
Mw925@english.rutgers.edu
I hope ya don't mind, let me clear my throat —DJ Kool (1996)
On April 17, 1967, at New York’s Riverside Church, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his most contested address, a speech variously titled, “Beyond Vietnam,” “Against Vietnam” and “A Time to Break Silence.” It was a clear dissent by a major American religious leader from the US war against Vietnam. With special attention to this speech, for what it argued, explicitly and implicitly, about the political power of eloquent speech and public oratory, this presentation considers the ways in which the “beyond” of Vietnam in King’s Riverside address is not only geo-political but temporal, transhistorical. “Beyond,” in other words, names “a time” (as in “A Time to Break Silence”) as much as it does a place (as in Southeast Asia or the Middle East). This time, however, doesn’t only refer to the period of political crisis, but refers to the age of technological revolution as well. This time is also that which, owing to the incredible speed of AI’s growth, now jeopardizes the immediacy and materiality of human speech and voice by mechanical imposture. This presentation goes on from a consideration of the politics of public speech and revolutionary power of what might be called “the eloquent voice” in public oratory to attend to a certain freedom of acoustic speech that artificial intelligence has not (yet) allowed: namely, vocalization in and through respiratory sound. It is the breathy surround of the human voice that enables King’s oratorical voice to “carry” in Riverside Church and beyond. This presentation, then, concludes by turning to the diacritical effects of audible breath, inhalation, exhalation, coughing, laryngeal clearing in the aural event of (black) oratory, each contributing to the production of meaning, embodiment (or witness), and belief for the public audience. Acoustic study of Martin Luther King’s “A Time to Break Silence” has a good deal to teach us about the increasing “breathlessness” of political (and religious) speech and the diminished voice of the non-elite classes in these dire democratic times. Today, the art of political speech-making is flatlining. The ossification of political life in the US into powerful and powerless interests is itself to blame, but, sixty years beyond Vietnam, so too is an AI revolution that, for all its benefits, is hard of hearing. Perhaps only in the speech and sound of the “eloquent voice” is there hope for American public speechcraft.
Exploring Editorial Censorship of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Book of Sermons
Keith Miller, Arizona State University
KEITH.MILLER@asu.edu
In 1962, Martin Luther King, Jr. mailed his editors the drafts of sermons for his book, Strength to Love initially published a year later. In 2006, the King Papers Project published those previously unavailable drafts. These drafts reveal King’s editors’ dilution of his outspoken African American Social Gospel as they prepared a final text of Strength to Love. Refusing to respect King, the patronizing editors instead weakened his cogent protests against racism, poverty, war, colonialism, and conformity. Also, they cut Biblical proof texts--the bedrock of sermons--that, in the same year, he wielded in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream.” By muffling the strong, anti-war views that King expressed in his drafts, this censorship helped spur mainstream African American leaders, President Lyndon Johnson, and the public alike to register surprise when King denounced American war-making in 1967.This presentation will explore specific aspects of King’s use of language as it draws upon insights from my book, Voice of Deliverance: The Language of Martin Luther King, Jr. and its Sources published in 1992.
Creating A Committed Life and the Tangible King
Nicole A. Moore, Senior Director of Education, National Center for Civil and Human Rights; President, National Council on Public History
Nicole.moore15@gmail.como
As the steward and exhibiting body of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights is committed to making Dr. King's speeches, writings, and other archival materials relevant and accessible to today's audiences. As visitors seek to encounter Dr. King beyond the pages of historical texts, it is especially important to engage them in immersive experiences that deepen understanding and appreciation for King’s thought and action. This presentation will reflect on the process of curation and design of a new gallery titled, A Committed Life which offers an intimate look at the life and legacy of Dr. King. Through handwritten sermons, speeches and personal notes, visitors witness King’s evolving ideas and deep commitment to nonviolence, dignity, and equality. The gallery space invites reflection on how King’s life can inspire us to act with purpose and courage in our own time.
Finding Their Frequency: Helping Youth Apply the Language of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Today’s World
Jennifer Gonzalez Teacher, US History and Psychology Decatur High School
jenniferpgonzalez@gmail.com
Young people often speak in frequencies outside the hearing of older teachers/activists/academics, but what they are articulating is often rooted in the language and cultural movements that came before. Restrictive educational gag orders and limited state standards in K-12 schools seek to deplete and silence discussions of equity in high school classrooms; however, these restrictions leave cracks that educators can leverage to help students apply Dr. King’s words to their own experience. This presentation seeks to demonstrate the value of applying King’s words to new forms of activism led by and for students. Young people in my community took lessons from writings such as “Letter from Birmingham Jail” and applied King’s call to action to demand an historical marker recognizing his 1960 arrest and sentencing in Decatur, Georgia. Students also developed a Black History Walking tour capturing the neglected history denied them in their state
4 standardized classrooms. Moving discussions of Dr. King’s words and actions outside the classroom liberates the curriculum and the actions of young people. Students effectively decolonized their own public spaces and communicated at their own frequencies connecting their actions, voices, and power to prior historical experiences. This is an example of the effective application to the lived experiences of young people today.