Civil rights activist Morris Dees said African-Americans have come a long way, but there is still work that needs to be done to eliminate racism.
Students, faculty and alumni alike came to Stewart Theatre in Talley Student Center Wednesday to hear Dees speak at the University’s commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The commemoration came at an important time in the history of the civil rights movement for the University, since the event occurred after racist messages were posted in the Free Expression Tunnel and a week before the first black president in American history will take office.
Dees has given his all in an effort to help minorities and groups who have been taken advantage of, according to Janet Howard, a lecturer for the Office for Equal Opportunity.
“He has dedicated his life to helping under-represented groups,” Howard, who also served as the interim director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs during her career at the University, said. “He’s won some major victories against the [KKK] and other racist terrorist groups.”
Jose Picart, the vice provost for diversity and inclusion, called Dees “a legendary civil-rights activist.”
Dees used the commemoration as an opportunity to discuss America’s civil-rights accomplishments since King was killed, especially in light of the election of Barack Obama.
“Dr. King would be glad so many things he wanted to see have been realized,” Dees said.
But the recent racist events on campus showed this nation still has improvements to make.
Charles Gatlin, a freshman in agribusiness management, said it was key for such a prominent civil-rights activist to be delivering his speech on a campus with recent racist problems.
“It’s a big step, a real big step. It’s important for [Dees] to be seen here,” he said.
Dees pointed out that while Obama was elected, only 10% of Caucasians in Alabama, Missisippi and other southern states voted for him.
“We need to build bridges across the divides that separate us,” Dees said. “The election of Barack Obama was one of those bridges…[but] there’s a lot of work to be done.”
Dees talked about a University of Chicago study conducted where 5,000 near-identical resumes were sent to companies with job openings across the country. The only difference in the resumes was that some had Caucasian names, others African-American names and still others with Latino names. The results showed there is still work to be done on the issue, according to Dees, who said the “LaKeisha’s” were called 50% fewer times.
But despite the warnings he issued, Dees remained confident that this country is moving in the right direction.
“We are going to solve these problems,” he said.
Dees also said he was confident this generation, when looked back on, will be seen as the generation that leads the charge.
“Someone will tell the story of this generation and the next generation…[and] it will be a story of the greatest generation,” Dees said.
Reginald Parks, a sophomore in sport management, said people like Dees will be key to that effort.
“The world will eventually seek out equality in all aspects, but without people like Dees working for it, it won’t happen.”
