It felt like a typical night for a Black student activist at Syracuse University back in 2002. In addition to the keynote speaker that the university hosts at the Carrier Dome, the African American Studies department would host their own event to deepen the conversations in community. On this brisk night, students of similar mindset would gather in a medium-sized room to listen to a panel of Black scholars discussing the legacy of Dr. King. Due to the “in-community” aspect of this dialogue, I won’t reveal much about the energy in the room. Suffice it to say that people challenged each other passionately on potent ideas for how to move forward [said with a laugh].
In the latter part of the panel discussion, one of the participants took umbrage with someone’s characterizations of King’s flaws, including accusations of plagiarism (here we go again!), philandering, and centering himself in the Civil Rights Movement. Just then, another panelist replied, “But, see, I like that we see these flaws. In so many instances, we see him deified when he was a regular human being doing extraordinary things. That makes his work attainable for people like me.”
Back then, I had to sit with that quote for a few weeks. I spent my college years forming words for all the experiences I had collected prior to my arrival at Syracuse University. While getting my credentials in computer science, I was getting an education on myself and people who were in the same racial caste as me.
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