Spring Break
Act of God settles dispute
The Josk Worn
Issue date: 2/15/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
As a small child, I remember separate facilities for coloreds and whites. I saw the other side of the tracks and heard about the dirt floor shacks, rented out to blacks by the local white judge. That was the 1960s in southeastern Maryland.
As a teenager, I remember that blacks lived in the same neighborhoods throughout the county. I heard my junior high history teacher say that he could only purchase land to build a house near his relatives. At 14, I was shocked to hear the beliefs held by a devout Southern bigot. That was the 1970s in rural northeastern Ohio.
As an adult, I remember the so-called jokes told over lunch, seeing more divided neighborhoods and noticing the subtleties of racial and gender prejudices and biases - such as, unequal pay, lack of job mentoring and negative documentation of job performance for certain people. That was the 1980s to the present.
I remember the sadness surrounding President Kennedy's assassination. I do not remember Martin L. King Jr.'s assassination.
I remember the controversy over the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day observation.
The University of Akron did not want to observe the day since it would throw off the school's calendar.
Because Akron's student body was almost 50 percent African-American, the administration worried about the repercussions.
Overnight, an act of God entered into the dispute. School was canceled on that first observation of Martin L. King Jr. Day because of the weather. The wind chill factor was 49 degrees below zero, one of the coldest days Ohio has ever endured.
So, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was meant to be.
The next year no hint of an argument arose. The University officially observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
King, a man who lived as he preached, walked the talk. He spoke and lived the message of nonviolence and love.
King saw more than a dream. He had vision. I only wish that he could have lived it.
As a teenager, I remember that blacks lived in the same neighborhoods throughout the county. I heard my junior high history teacher say that he could only purchase land to build a house near his relatives. At 14, I was shocked to hear the beliefs held by a devout Southern bigot. That was the 1970s in rural northeastern Ohio.
As an adult, I remember the so-called jokes told over lunch, seeing more divided neighborhoods and noticing the subtleties of racial and gender prejudices and biases - such as, unequal pay, lack of job mentoring and negative documentation of job performance for certain people. That was the 1980s to the present.
I remember the sadness surrounding President Kennedy's assassination. I do not remember Martin L. King Jr.'s assassination.
I remember the controversy over the first Martin Luther King Jr. Day observation.
The University of Akron did not want to observe the day since it would throw off the school's calendar.
Because Akron's student body was almost 50 percent African-American, the administration worried about the repercussions.
Overnight, an act of God entered into the dispute. School was canceled on that first observation of Martin L. King Jr. Day because of the weather. The wind chill factor was 49 degrees below zero, one of the coldest days Ohio has ever endured.
So, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was meant to be.
The next year no hint of an argument arose. The University officially observed Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
King, a man who lived as he preached, walked the talk. He spoke and lived the message of nonviolence and love.
King saw more than a dream. He had vision. I only wish that he could have lived it.