Cooly clad in men's wear and with a sparkle in her eye that only could be seen in the last few rows, Nikki Giovanni, one of America's most celebrated African American poets, proclaimed that if Martin Luther King, Jr. were still alive today, he most definitely would have had braids.
"I don't think I could have gotten him to go blonde like me, though," Giovanni confessed.
The New York Times' proclaimed "Princess of Poetry" was just one of the spectacular features in a night that celebrated the life and legacy of King.
At 7 last night in the Eisenhower Auditorium, the Undergraduate Student Government presented the Martin Luther King, Jr. Evening Celebration to a crowd of over 500 people.
The lights dimmed in the auditorium to showcase "He Lives In You," featuring Orchesis and Tapestry dance companies.
Orchesis integrated modern dance, tap and hip-hop moves in front of brightly colored backgrounds. Tapestry, dressed in colorful African garb, gave an inspired performance that enlivened the audience with passionate and soulful dancing, combined with powerful reverberations from drummers in order to celebrate African-American heritage.
Essence of Joy capped off the night with beautiful choral arrangements that conveyed the message espoused by King.
The night's highlight, however, was in the poetry, prose and politics spoken by the celebration's featured speaker, Giovanni.
She set the tone of the night with a statement of strength: "I never let what other people think affect what I'm doing."
Giovanni put the audience at ease immediately with her wit, humor and easy nature.
Although she made the audience roar with laughter, Giovanni wove serious and controversial issues into her speech, commenting on the war in Iraq, civil disobedience and disseminating the ugly truth about slavery.
She said King's dream is closer to becoming a reality today than it was forty years ago.
"Life is a chessboard," she said. "Progress has been made, but any freedom has to be nurtured; a living entity must be taken care of."
Monica Russell (junior- communication, arts and sciences and African and African-American studies) agreed with Giovanni's statements.
"There are a lot of other issues that need to be dealt with, like classism, racism and sexism--inequality still exists greatly," she said. "In 1963, it was more evident, but now it's more institutionalized and not as obvious. Today, it's harder to eradicate."
Racial obstacles still remain, but there is nevertheless hope for the future, Darryl McKnight (junior-history) said.
"People are under the impression that because we have come so far, everything is fine, that we need to get rid of affirmative action, and that there is a level playing field, but there isn't," he said. "We have to remember [King's] legacy and move forward through progress and acceptance."
Devin Oliver (junior-theater) said King's famous dream can be achieved, and is evident through the celebration of remembrance at Penn State.
"Martin Luther King means service to me, and we shouldn't wait for this one day--we should do it each and every day, and lend our services to each other," he said. "We're working to get closer to his word and the dream that he has inspired."
