Still dreaming

King's speech to University applicable in today's world

Nearly 33 years ago, a capacity crowd of 9,000 filled Rec Hall to hear him speak.

Today, the nation celebrates his birthday.

A brilliant orator and visionary activist, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to his audience that night with powerful words, many of which are as applicable today as they were the day he uttered them.

"Although his ideas were of particular importance to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, time has not stripped them of their significance to the world we live in today."

Although his ideas were of particular importance to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, time has not stripped them of their significance to the world we live in today.

Addressing the problem of segregation while speaking in Rec Hall, King remarked:

"Now one is the myth of time. You've heard this idea. It is the notion that only time can solve the problem. It is the idea that we must somehow sit down by the wayside and wait on time."

In Fall Semester 1995, when swastikas appeared on the walls of campus buildings, the community didn't wait for time to pass. Instead, it banded together, and showed its support in the "Take a Stand" rally.

King knew that time alone could not solve our nation's social problems. Indeed, it hasn't, but the work of people like him has helped tremendously.

We live in a world today that has seen hate groups on the rise and people denying the Holocaust ever happened. Problems like these will never resolve themselves unless there are people who care enough to take a stand -- people like King.

To those who would advocate complacency and waiting for change, King responded, "I think there is an answer to that myth. It is time is neutral. It can either be used constructively or destructively."

Decades after her father spoke at the University, Yolanda King, daughter of the slain civil rights activist, will visit, and deliver the keynote address of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration at 7:30p.m. today in Eisenhower Auditorium. Admission is free.