Students celebrate King’s legacy

Over 500 filed into the Smith-Brown Memorial Union on Monday, Jan. 21st for a celebration honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that was filled with inspiration and challenges set forth by Rev. Errol Domingue, the keynote speaker and Gov. Bobby Jindal.
Domingue, pastor of Elm Grove Baptist Church, said King’s life and legacy teaches one lessons, but that he was not going to rehash past achievements, rather he wanted to encourage us “to seize the moment of this day and yet remain hopeful enough to work for a brighter tomorrow.”
The Southern alum explained this was not the season for the apathetic, the insipid, and the listless. He called for a move to action because “too often the truth is hidden under propaganda and those who are suppose to represent the people all too often end up representing their own interest.”
Doing things for self-interest brought Dr. King’s “Drum Major” speech to mind, said Reuben Griffin, a senior political science major from Garland. The moral of that speech is not to get caught up in the glitter and gold, but to live everyday being a servant, helping to make the world a better place, explained Griffin.
The moral of the speech delivered by Domingue is to know “that if we think the fight is over, it’s not,” said Griffin. “Since the fight is not over, those African-Americans in leadership who are in a position to make change do,” added Griffin.
Domingue said that those who can make a change are not; because they are unfit, uncertain and unconcerned. And due to this lack of change, Domingue added that the same things are going on today as they did in Dr. King’s day.
Domingue said that in those days, the young were dying in the rice fields of South Asia, fighting an unexplainable war and now, the young are dying in the Middle East, Afghanistan, fighting an unjustified war.
According to the Southern alum, blacks were abused and arrested for DWB – driving while black and that even now, depending on the officer, blacks are still being arrested for DWB.
During King’s day, Domingue said, there was legislation affording blacks the opportunity to vote. Today “they decided to give it another chance for 25 more years.”
Dominque said blacks have bigger homes and more cars, but that if one goes down, like a child that drops out of school, we all go down as illustrated in the biblical book of Esther.
According to Esther, the fourth chapter, she was placed in a position to save the Jews because she was a Jew.
Before she acted on behalf of the Jews, Queen Esther’s uncle, Mordecai, told her that being queen would not exempt her if the proclamation to kill the Jews is brought to fruition. He told her maybe God put her in that position for a time such as this.
Jindal echoed the sentiments about helping others when in the position to help by telling a story about the late Eddie Robinson, former Grambling State football coach and how he helped a student attend and graduate from Grambling.
According to Jindal, Robinson solicited a certain young man to come play for him, but before the season started, the young man was injured at practice. Jindal said that the young man thought his college career was over since football was his ticket to college.
Nonetheless, Robinson made sure this young man received a scholarship and yet he never played a day of football. This young man was the first to graduate from college in his family. He later had children who also graduated from college, said Jindal.
The message of getting an education is something that resonated with Ralph Slaughter, President of the Southern University System. Slaughter said Domingue “laid the groundwork for what education would do to improve lives of people.”
Slaughter hopes after hearing the fire and brimstone message it will yield interest in the community, especially in the youth males because many are in jail, on the corner and in the graveyard.

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Kenyetta M. Collins/ Digest

(From right) Rueben Griffin, Terrell Lamar, Kellon Lyons, Royce Enclarde, Terrell Dupard, Osie Ohiosimuan and Alphonse Stewart all members of the Beta Sigma Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. unite during the candlelight vigil in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday night.