THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 18, 1997 TAG: 9701180372
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 111 lines
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s final speech, warning of ``dark and difficult days ahead,'' accurately forecast today's obstacles for African-Americans, civil rights leader Benjamin L. Hooks told Norfolk State University students Friday. But these challenges can be surmounted, if the next generation keeps struggling.
``Don't you do like that fellow in the Mercedes-Benz and say, `I have overcome,' '' said Hooks, who was the executive director of the NAACP from 1977 to 1993. ``We still have problems. . . . But if we work together, we can, we shall, overcome.''
Hooks, who is a Baptist preacher in Memphis, jolted the audience with rousing, sometimes blistering, tones during his 30-minute speech.
Among the problems of the '90s that he cited were:
The campaign against affirmative action. Hooks singled out Ward Connerly, a black consultant from California who announced this week that he would start a national institute to try to overturn affirmative-action laws. ``We needed it then, and we need it now, and we must not let any misguided souls take it away from us,'' Hooks said.
Black-on-black crime. ``Brothers and sisters, we must not try to hide in the closet things that are wrong. The mayhem and violence must stop.''
Clarence Thomas, the black conservative justice on the Supreme Court. ``Every time he opens his mouth, he says the wrong thing.''
Ronald Reagan's presidency. ``Ronald Reagan could sleep through more important things than any other president.''
Hooks recalled hearing King's last speech in Memphis. ``I don't think I ever heard Dr. King speak with the pathos, precision and power he exhibited that night,'' he said.
Afterward, Hooks said, ``grown men and women were crying like babies. Little did I know that this speech would be the last speech he delivered on this earth. . . .
``Surely, King was a prophet. God gave him insight, because we have had some dark and difficult days.''
On the other hand, Hooks said, there's been good news in the quarter-century since King's assassination. If one-third of African-Americans are below the poverty level, he said, two-thirds are above it.
Blacks, such as Bryant Gumbel and Oprah Winfrey, are regularly seen on TV now. And cities from New York to San Francisco have been led by black mayors. Hooks also pointed to Chesapeake Mayor William E. Ward, a Norfolk State history professor, who was sitting behind him.
``Don't you tell me we haven't made progress,'' Hooks said. ``The Lord has been good to me. I have seen the promised land.''
Norfolk State holds its commemoration for the civil rights leader on the Friday before his birthday because the university is closed for the holiday.
Classes were canceled for part of Friday morning to allow students to attend the commemoration.
NSU officials estimated more than 2,500 people attended Hooks' speech at Echols Hall.
Beforehand, several hundred braved the cold for a cross-campus rally, led by the marching band.
``They marched for us back in their day,'' said Terrence Howard, a 19-year-old freshman from Fayetteville, N.C., ``so the least we can do is march today, to show some respect.''
At the ceremony, Hooks also presented a plaque to NSU President Harrison B. Wilson, who will retire this summer after leading the university for 22 years.
``He has done a tremendous job at this institution,'' Hooks said. ``Long before Jesse Jackson made it famous . . ., he was saying, `You are somebody.' ''
After Hooks' speech, Wilson told the students, ``Let's leave here recommitting to ourselves - that you're going to take advantage of your education, that you're going to make a difference in society, that you're going to help somebody else.''
The ceremony ended with the singing of ``We Shall Overcome.'' Halfway through, Hooks went to the microphone to encourage a more soulful rendition.
``Raise your voices,'' he boomed as the crowd sang on. ``Say it like you mean it. . . . Come on, raise it up. . . . I do believe. . . . We shall.''
And the singing grew louder. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARK MITCHELL/The Virginian-Pilot
Former NAACP director and civil rights leader Benjamin Hooks speaks
at a ceremony honoring Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday at Norfolk
State University on Friday.
[Side Bar]
Here are some events honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s
birthday, which is observed on Monday, Lee-Jackson-King Day:
Sunday:
4 p.m. - The New Horizons Choir of the Veterans Affairs Medical
Center will perform at St. Paul's Catholic Church, Portsmouth. The
men and women of the choir are military veterans who are in recovery
from chemical addictions. The event is free.
Monday:
7:30 a.m. - Norfolk Mayor Paul Fraim will be the guest speaker at
the Urban League's 12th annual Community Leaders Breakfast in memory
of Dr. King in the Mary Scott Dining Room on the Norfolk State
University campus. Tickets are $10. Call 627-0864.
10:30 a.m. - Old Hampton Community Center will be the starting
point of a Unity March to Hampton City Hall. A brief rally will
follow to celebrate ``Diversify the Strength of Our Neighborhoods''
at City Hall, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Call 727-1123.
6 p.m. - ``Implement the King Dream Awards Banquet,'' a tribute
to the late Rev. Bernard Spellman, will be at Scott Dozier Dining
Hall, Norfolk State. Call 466-7933.
Sunset - Groups will gather for a memorial march and candlelight
vigil at Hampton University's Emancipation Oak. Call 727-5253.
Tuesday:
7 p.m. - Old Dominion University's observance begins with a
candlelight vigil on the campus' Kaufman Mall. Ed Gordon, news
anchor and host on the MSNBC Cable News Network, will speak at 8
p.m. in Webb Center. The Rev. Dr. Melvin O. Marriner will be
presented the university's 1997 Martin Luther King Jr. award. The
program is free and open to the public.
KEYWORDS: NSU REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.