More Civil Rights leaders exist than just Martin Luther King Jr.
Monday is a day college students everywhere celebrate as an extra day to prepare for the quickly ensuing school year. While the time off is nice, it is important for everyone to remember that Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, represents far more than a chance to sleep in.
Jessy Forsmo-Shadid
The holiday, and the fact that February is Black History Month, means it is time to reflect on the many African-American leaders in our country’s history. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a big deal on most university campuses and the University of Idaho is no different. This year, UI marked the occasion with keynote speaker Robert Butler, a reporter for KCBS radio in San Francisco and President of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a day to learn more about the famous activist and how his “I Have a Dream” speech compelled many to consider segregation and the mistreatment of African Americans in the U.S.
But what most people were not taught as young students in school was that there were many Civil Rights leaders besides King that should be recognized for their bravery and willingness to fight for change.
One example of these influential people is Malcolm X. Like King, tried to make America a better place for all races. Yet, unlike King, Malcolm X was not afraid of taking a more radical approach when it came to protests and the rest of his activist work. He was known to talk about racial inequality without sugar coating what was really going on.
Angela Davis, Maya Angelou and Stokely Carmichael are all leaders who more people in our society need to know more about. These people and many others have made an impact on the Civil Rights Movement through speeches, art and protests. It is a shame how high the number of people is who do not know more about leaders in the Civil Rights Movement other than King.
There is a reason why King is taught in schools more than other leaders such as Malcolm X. He advocated peaceful protest, which is something our country is more accepting towards. There is a strange stigma to any protests that involve violence.
Even if a community has been through unbelievable violence, to retaliate with the slightest kind of violence in return is deemed unacceptable.
Nonetheless, our society needs to acknowledge the many people who were part of the Civil Rights Movement. We know that King was one of the key leaders of the movement because there is a day dedicated to his hard work.
In the end, Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a great time to celebrate how far our country has improved when it comes to racial injustice. It’s also a great time to think of how, collectively, we could continue to make things better for not only the African-American community, but the Latino community, the LGBTQA community and so on.
Jessy Forsmo-Shadid can be reached at [email protected]