To Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I didn't want to miss the reminders of his dream. I knew
U of M would have something on their event schedule commemorating him.
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| Arriving Early for Harry Belafonte's Lecture Hill Auditorium, U of M |
Harry Belafonte spoke today, at Hill Auditorium, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His presence, style, personality were all what I expected and more. He doesn't have to sing to make his presence known.
He casually walked on stage with a cane. He wore a gray tweed suit, with black shoes. No tie, but a white shirt underneath a gray sweater, showing only the white collar. Tall, handsome, and charming, he smiled warmly, as the crowd greeted him.
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| Harry Belafonte, Just as I Expected |
It was quite a crowd. I made sure to arrive about 8:40 a.m. and even then, there were a few people already there, on the steps of Hill Auditorium. The event was to take place at 10 a.m. The lines started getting longer and longer. Eventually, the crowd started three lines for the three entrances into the building.
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| The Waiting Line, Winding Down North University Ave. |
A few woman, who were the first to arrive, kept trying to get the woman inside the building, to let the elderly people in early. It was typical, cold, windy, day in Ann Arbor. The woman inside started to, but then after a few elderly women entered, she told us she couldn't let anyone else in. Everyone went in at 9:30, which was good.
The woman I was talking to on the steps, Jennifer Pollard, was fascinating to talk to. She's working on her doctorate in Higher Education and has a true-hearted feel for how America needs to proceed with the changes in education. Many of the issues were similar to the problems I faced in Atlanta, Michigan, where I taught. Kids needing more than was being offered. Kids with thoughts of college and worried they're not being prepared. The deletion of the arts, libraries, choices in curriculum. The imbalance between school systems and what they can offer students. The time flew before we were let in at 9:30.
I talked to a couple of families, once I got a seat inside. I was pleased a young third-grader was there. His mom and grandmother made sure to get him there. There was a mom with her son beside her. I told her I was happy to see she got her high-schooler out for the event. She said, "He was glad to come." Then she proceeded to tell me a story about taking him to China when he was younger. It took him a bit longer to buy into that. (He's happy she did, because now he's older and has the benefit of speaking Chinese)
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| Mother With Her Teenage Son |
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| Mom and Grandmother With Third-Grade Boy |
Mr. Belafonte spoke without notes in front of him. He began by stating we have somehow lost our moral compass. He came back to this at the end of his lecture and said he thought part of the problem was we have lost our "Navigators", leaders who commit to making the changes necessary to save our societies and our earth. The change will only come if we take an active role. He said we need a "Global Consciousness".
Some of the early navigators, he knew personally. Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandella, and many other pioneers in the civil rights movement. He made it clear he felt we all have a responsibility to make our leaders listen to us, to make the changes we need. He repeated, "There is more yet to be done!"
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| Martin Luther King, Jr. & Harry Belafonte |
He also suggested reform in our schools. He believes we need to connect deeper with the humanities and the arts instead of putting so much emphasis on the "Hard" sciences and business. (sounded just like what Jennifer had been talking about before we went in)
He spoke of the repression of woman across the world. These also are civil right issues. He talked about music setting the mood of our culture, and the media. Taking back the right to choose, what is morally good or bad. He referenced "Hip Hop" and the change it is causing to demoralize woman. He sited a "Father's Day Central Park" event going on in New York. Famous performers will be there to make change with their voices.
He said, "I'm not a leader, really. I'm a missionary." He said he has many people ask him to help them, but he knows it can't be him. They need to empower themselves and the people they are connected with, who have the power to get things done.
He gets the feeling, from younger people, the civil rights movement is a thing of the past. He emphasized the need to continue the work. We need it to if our world is going to get on course again. He said we have an insatiable appetite for greed. Success is thought to equal material acquisition.
I'm not pretending to know what his entire message was. This auditorium was packed. I do know, the audience was inspired and charged by his message. You could feel the energy when everyone exited.
Harry Belafonte is 87 years old. He still inspires. He still is passionate about change. I felt privileged to be able to be there to hear him speak. I'm listening to his recording, "The Very Best of Harry Belafonte" ,(1961) as I write and post, to my blog. His sings of life in simple terms. Love. Home and family. Where we live and work. His responded quickly to "What can we do?" It was a perfect review of his lecture. Show love, take care of your family, and take care of your world.
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| Saying Goodbye to Standing Ovation (My picture isn't very clear, but you can see his sweet smile and his connection to the audience) |
Other quotes by Harry Belafonte:
You can cage the singer but not the song.
Bring it on. Dissent is central to any democracy.
Each and every one of you has the power, the will and the capacity to make a difference in the world in which you live in."
Thanks so much for your notes on Harry Belafonte's lecture. I left my pen and paper at home. I wanted to listen and reflect today--I'm glad you were able to highlight some of his quotes and take some awesome pictures. One thing that I walked away with was his remembrance of a conversation he had with Martin Luther King, Jr.--Dr. King prophetically said, "we're integrating [in reference to racial integration] into a burning house." MLK foresaw a world in which people were losing their moral compasses.
ReplyDeleteDuring the brief Q/A session, a student asked in short, should we rebuild or fix the house? IE, where do we go from here? I felt some sense of peace in his response, e.g., do what we do and know best--organize. And, the instructions already exist. MLK and other leaders have already written the slogans, they've already fought the fight. Taking time out to reflect on our history would be an effective use of time.
The second point that I took away was that we're responsible for pushing our agendas forward; we're responsible for holding our politicians accountable to do what's best for the people. Any failure on their part in short is a failure on our part.
I feel very lucky and very fortunate to have been been able to hear Mr. Belafonte speak.
Thanks again for your posting your notes and reflections on your blog.