WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.000 MUSIC (Then my living) 00:01:00.000 --> 00:01:05.000 APPLAUSE 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:12.000 Thank you so much. Good evening! 00:01:12.000 --> 00:01:16.000 CROWD REPLIES It is a pleasure to be here 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:20.000 at Western Oregon. This is my first time in this 00:01:20.000 --> 00:01:24.000 part of the state. I have spent a good bit of time 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.000 in Oregon and lots of different of your sister 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:32.000 institutions and this is my first time getting over here to be with you all. So I'm 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:36.000 honored to be your seventh 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000 speaker. The speaker of your 7th annual MLK event. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.000 I am honored to be here tonight in that it is such a pleasure 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:48.000 to have the opportunity to speak at these kinds 00:01:48.000 --> 00:01:52.000 of events. I want to honor tonight and welcome 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:56.000 and appreciate the leadership here at Western Oregon 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:60.000 President Weiss, cabinet, faculty and staff 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:04.000 the committee, I want to thank you all for your 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:08.000 hard work in putting this wonderful event together. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:12.000 Especially I want to give appreciation to the woman who kept 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:16.000 me on the phone, connected with me through emails and made sure I had 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:20.000 everything I need, please join me in appreciating Afi 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:24.000 Thank you so much. CROWD APPLAUDS 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:32.000 Having a good meal? Let's appreciate those who made it possible 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:36.000 that we even eat and serve those who served our meal 00:02:36.000 --> 00:02:40.000 thank you so much for your work, we appreciate you CROWD APPLAUDS 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:44.000 It is so fitting at 00:02:44.000 --> 00:02:48.000 a celebration for Dr King that we pay attention to those who serve us 00:02:48.000 --> 00:02:52.000 and not forget that when he talked about justice 00:02:52.000 --> 00:02:56.000 he was talking about all of us, so thank you all for 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:60.000 labor. I want to honor the land that we stand on 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:04.000 not forgetting that this land 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.000 was not ours. That it is a borrowed space 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:12.000 that there were folks here before we got here 00:03:12.000 --> 00:03:16.000 and so I'm grateful for the ancestry of those 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:20.000 whose land we share. I'm grateful for our ancestors 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.000 named and unnamed. I want you tonight as we 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.000 celebrate Dr. King and his legacy to think about 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:32.000 those who made it possible for you to be here 00:03:32.000 --> 00:03:36.000 The mothers, the fathers, the grandparents 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.000 the great aunts and the great uncles on remembering tonight 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:44.000 my grandmother. Many of you may have seen the movie 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:48.000 The Help, that movie reflected 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.000 a great deal of my lived experience as I was 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:56.000 that grandchild who was at home while she was away 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:60.000 making it possible for me to be able to stand here today 00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:04.000 I want you to not forget that 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:08.000 and feel their presence. Tonight we have the opportunity 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:12.000 to celebrate the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:16.000 MLK days have been going on now for about 00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:20.000 twenty five years. Every year you can count on 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:24.000 hearing on the radio, on television, now even on the 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:28.000 web and youtube the I Have A Dream 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:32.000 speech. The speech that has come to be known as 00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:35.000 one of the best written speeches in American history 00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:40.000 The speech that spoke truth to power and also the message 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:44.000 and a picture of hope for our future. You know the speech 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:48.000 the famous words 'I have a dream'. Dr. King 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:52.000 dreamed of a world that he did not yet see 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:56.000 where blacks and whites 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:60.000 and Jews and Gentiles and Catholics and Protestants 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:04.000 could all be seen and valued as respected members 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:08.000 of the human family. The challenge 00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:12.000 is that many of us are stuck in the 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:19.000 We show up at these events 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:24.000 and we have done our thing for diversity. We have 00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:28.000 done our thing for social justice in our world. We keep 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:32.000 the program, it is often posted in our 00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:36.000 bulletin boards or sitting in our desk in our offices and 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:40.000 then we show up again a year later 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:44.000 I am appreciative today of the offering 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:48.000 of this years theme. For we've had many themes now 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:52.000 through the years connected to the Dream. Building the Dream, 00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:56.000 Holding the Dream. Keeping the Dream. Is the Dream Alive? A Dream Deferred. 00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:60.000 Many things connected to the Dream. Very powerful 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:04.000 These things offer us to pause and engage ourselves 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:08.000 as well as each other and to help us 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.000 not make Dr. Kings living in vain 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:16.000 each generation will have it's work to do 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:20.000 to hold people true to the value that they say 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:24.000 we have. Dr. King and those who went before him and there were those 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:28.000 who walked along side of him. Worked very hard 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:32.000 to tear down the legal barriers, so we could have a room 00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:36.000 that looks like this. So that we could have the spaces and conversations 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:39.000 and the opportunities to learn together 00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:44.000 My generation benefited greatly from that work. Tearing down those 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:48.000 walls and having us live into the dream. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:53.000 You all as parts of the next generation have the responsibility now 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:56.000 to help us move the dream forward. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:60.000 To help us live true to the dream. 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:04.000 This year's theme here at Western is 00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:09.000 Dream keeping: Personalizing the vision 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:14.000 Dream keeping: Personalizing the vision 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:20.000 Now, often when I come and I speak at an event like this 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:24.000 I have a wonderful audience like you 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:28.000 come and have a wonderful meal and shake 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:32.000 each others hand and then leave. Not tonight 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:36.000 your task for the next few 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.000 minutes is to talk about the theme. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:44.000 I want to invite you to turn to one other person at your table. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:48.000 After you've made sure to meet everybody at your table. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:52.000 I trust you've already done that, but if you haven't please make sure that you do. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:56.000 Then I want you to talk about what it means for you to be 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:60.000 Dream Keeping: Personalizing the Vision 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:04.000 You got five minutes, have a conversation 00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:08.000 CROWD CONVERSING 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:12.000 Thank you very much 00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:16.000 Let's come back together, alright 00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:20.000 how are we doing? Thank you so much 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.000 So, as I move into the rest of 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:28.000 my remarks tonight. Let's just think I was just trying to 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:32.000 fill time. I'm a black preacher 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.000 that is not a problem for me. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:40.000 Every time I step into a room and I'm invited 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.000 to give one of these speeches I am really 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:48.000 clear that it is not enough for me to talk 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:50.000 but you must use your voice. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:56.000 If we are to keep the dream you must personalize the vision. 00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:60.000 You must be talking about what this means 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:04.000 Now some of you were able to do, I don't know what you were talking about 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:09.000 at your tables, but I want you to pay attention to 00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:11.000 was I able 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:16.000 to talk about what he invited us to discuss? 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:18.000 Was I able to spend five minutes 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:23.000 being in a visioning moment about what it means 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:27.000 to continue creating liberty and justice for all? 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:32.000 Or did I just come for the chicken. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:37.000 Did I just come to be seen in the space? 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:40.000 Many times I'm at an event like this and 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:44.000 folks will say Jamie you don't have to convince us 00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:48.000 You don't have to try to make us understand 00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:51.000 You are preaching to the choir 00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:56.000 How many of you have heard that before? Right? There's so many other people who need to be here. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:60.000 It's not us you need to be talking to. 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:04.000 The other thing about being in ministry as long as I have 00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:08.000 is I've also had about 30 years of working with choirs. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:12.000 And what I know about the choir 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:16.000 is that the choir needs rehearsal 00:10:16.000 --> 00:10:19.000 and so if you're sitting here tonight feeling like 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:22.000 I know all of this and I've got this 00:10:22.000 --> 00:10:26.000 I want you to pay attention choir members 00:10:26.000 --> 00:10:32.000 if you really are just singing the songs that you know 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:36.000 if you are only in the choir 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:40.000 when you get to sing solo 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:44.000 If you are only there when your favorite singer 00:10:44.000 --> 00:10:48.000 is singing. It is important for us tonight 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.000 if we are in fact to keep the dream 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:55.000 that we begin to explore what it means 00:10:55.000 --> 00:10:59.000 to personalize our vision. So thank you for sharing 00:10:59.000 --> 00:10:64.000 I want to start tonight by talking about this vision in two parts 00:11:04.000 --> 00:11:08.000 and it won't be before you long, but I really do feel like it is very powerful 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:11.000 theme for us to have 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:14.000 in this 60th anniversary year 00:11:14.000 --> 00:11:19.000 a Brown vs. Board of Education that struck down separate 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:24.000 but equal. In this 50th anniversary of the signing of the Civil Rights Act 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:27.000 and last years 50th anniversary of the national 00:11:27.000 --> 00:11:35.000 march on Washington where Dr. Martin Luther King's 'I have a Dream'speech was shared with thousands. 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:38.000 The dream keeping the dream says to me 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:42.000 if we are not careful we can lose it. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:49.000 If we are not careful we can get caught up in the illusion of inclusion. 00:11:49.000 --> 00:11:54.000 What does that look like you ask. 00:11:54.000 --> 00:11:57.000 Well we are living in a post racial era. 00:11:57.000 --> 00:11:63.000 I don't see color. I just see people as people. 00:12:03.000 --> 00:12:10.000 We elected a bi-racial president who identifies as African-American. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:13.000 Therefore race does not matter anymore. 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:17.000 We are all done with race and racism. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:24.000 After all we have Oprah, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Sonia Sotomayor 00:12:24.000 --> 00:12:30.000 and a host of other sports figures, politicians and celebrities. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:38.000 So what is all this about? Why can't we just live and let live, We have marriage equality in many states. 00:12:38.000 --> 00:12:46.000 We have Ellen Degeneres, who is even doing make-up commercials and Modern Family and Glee. 00:12:46.000 --> 00:12:49.000 So what do you people want? 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:54.000 Haven't we achieved the dream? Isn't the work all done? 00:12:54.000 --> 00:12:59.000 It is easy to lose the dream and the notion 00:12:59.000 --> 00:12:69.000 of liberty and justice for all. When many of the trappings of our society may look as if we already achieved it. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:17.000 I don't want to minimize the strides for greater inclusion in justice. 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:22.000 However I would say, We are not done. 00:13:22.000 --> 00:13:28.000 How do we not just have diversity as we have in the room 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:33.000 but how do we move to a more inclusive society. 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:40.000 How do we not just have room at the table, but how do we create 00:13:40.000 --> 00:13:44.000 space at the table for all voices to be heard. 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:48.000 That's the work for the next round. 00:13:49.000 --> 00:13:53.000 Vision is what Dr. King had. 00:13:53.000 --> 00:13:61.000 Dr. King's 'I Have a Dream' speech was a statement of vision. He envisioned a society and a world 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:08.000 where all of us could be see, valued, heard and respected. 00:14:08.000 --> 00:14:15.000 While his vision in that time was shared often in a race context. 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:20.000 His vision was big, bold, broad and expensive. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.000 His vision was future directed. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:28.000 Most importantly his vision 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:31.000 was not something he could have achieved on his own. 00:14:31.000 --> 00:14:38.000 nor was it something he saw himself in the physical. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:41.000 Dr. King had a vision for his family. 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:47.000 for his children and that fueled his fight for social justice. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:51.000 He had experiences that fueled his dream. 00:14:51.000 --> 00:14:56.000 I ask you tonight. What's fueling your dream? 00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:59.000 What's the passion for your vision? 00:14:59.000 --> 00:14:63.000 Do you have a vision for the future? 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:08.000 I know for me, after 30 years of 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:11.000 actively engaging in this work around social justice. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:16.000 When I first started the work, I entered it as many of us enter it. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.000 From our places of pain. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:22.000 In the places where we've struggled for inclusion. 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:30.000 So as a young African-American raised working class poor, gay identified man. 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:36.000 I could identified many of the spaces where I felt excluded. 00:15:36.000 --> 00:15:44.000 Where I was made to feel less than and it was not just me but many others who looked like me. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:46.000 and shared my group memberships. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:50.000 Yes I entered this place from a place. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:56.000 This discussion this work from a place of pain. I wanted a better world. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:60.000 I wanted a world where poor and working class children 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:03.000 did not have to feel like they were not as smart 00:16:03.000 --> 00:16:07.000 or not as good as, or not deserving because 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:11.000 they didn't come from the same access to a quality education that some 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:13.000 of their counterparts did. 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:18.000 I wanted a world where folks because of their color of their skin 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:24.000 and particularly for me at that time African-Americans did not feel like they had limited options 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.000 in terms for what they could do with their future. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:36.000 I didn't want to just feel my only options were to be a preacher or a musician or an athlete. 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:40.000 I wanted to hear like there were many options for me and for others. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:47.000 I wanted a world where no gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, or transgender child 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:52.000 had to feel like they lose access to the God of their knowing, 00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.000 because of the sexually orientation or gender identity. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:60.000 Yes, I entered this work from my places of pain. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:08.000 and so my vision was for a world that included all of those identities. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.000 That was what was behind my vision and my passion. 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.000 What I learned as I moved 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.000 was that if I only focused on my pain, 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:24.000 I served to continue creating pain for others. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:33.000 I did not realize at the time that I lived in the world with so many other oppurtunities. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:42.000 Today I'm driven not only by the pain, of ending the pain of racism and hetrosexism and classism 00:17:42.000 --> 00:17:47.000 the experiences in my own life, but also the pain and exclusion of others. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:52.000 Who are like me and those who are apart of my group 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:56.000 and also feel this same source of pain. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:60.000 Where I got really effective at building a vision 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 was when I realized I live with a great deal of privilege. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:12.000 As a sex gender physically ables physiologically and mental male over 50 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:15.000 like I'm older than the president. (Audience laughs) 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:20.000 I don't know when that happened, but that's kind of a big deal for me. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:28.000 I'm a business owner, Christian pastor, upper-middle class, US citizen and more 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:29.000 that I have not even named. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:35.000 I could easily see myself just focusing on my pain and not 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:40.000 paying attention in the world to how I have privilege. 00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.000 and so today I consider 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:49.000 that I have enormous opportunities to create change. 00:18:49.000 --> 00:18:55.000 I get to use my privilege in the world to make it better, so that when I show up in 00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:60.000 a room often as I do as the pastor or 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.000 spiritual leader and folks ask me to say a prayer. 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:08.000 They often are asking me to a Christian prayer 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:13.000 Now I have no problem with a Christian prayer, in a Christian space 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.000 When it's not a Christian space 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:20.000 I might consider that indication might include 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.000 other ways of knowing and other peoples spiritual journey's and paths. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:31.000 As I move about the world as a sex gendered male I am reminded of the things I don't have 00:19:31.000 --> 00:19:36.000 to think about on a daily basis, whether that is about where I park 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:40.000 whether that is about how I get cut-off, whether that is about how my 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.000 ideas get taken, whether that is about how I get assumed 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:46.000 to be only a sex object. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:55.000 I don't have to deal with some of the things that some of my female colleagues and counterparts live with everyday. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:63.000 I don't worry that I'm going to be mispronounced or mis-gendered when I walk into a bathroom. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:07.000 I don't have to live in that struggle, I don't worry that when 00:20:07.000 --> 00:20:12.000 I show up at a meeting with a colleague in a wheelchair or dinner, 00:20:12.000 --> 00:20:15.000 that they will speak to my colleague 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:20.000 as to order my food, because certainly if I'm in a wheelchair I must 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:23.000 not be able to speak or to talk either. 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:27.000 I don't have to worry about not being heard 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:31.000 Because baby you just too young. (Audience laughs) 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:36.000 or baby you too old to know anything. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.000 I don't have to worry about being asked 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:49.000 if I'm a citizen, because I live with privileges in this United States. 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.000 My vision for a world that is more 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:56.000 inclusive requires that I not only deal 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:61.000 with places of pain, but also that I deal with my places of privilege. 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:09.000 I invite you all to think about, how we keep the dream and build it. 00:21:09.000 --> 00:21:12.000 I want you to look out into the world 00:21:12.000 --> 00:21:15.000 and see what your vision is. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:22.000 You have that opportunity, however you must not be stuck in 1963 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:27.000 You must update. What are the current injustices? 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:31.000 While you may not see the same kinds of violent 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:36.000 acts you might have seen 50 years ago in most places. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:40.000 I believe that the micro aggressions that we deal with 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.000 each and every day can be just as painful and just 00:21:44.000 --> 00:21:48.000 as damaging and even more problematic 00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:50.000 because you can not prove them. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:56.000 You will often deal with, oh thats not what I meant. 00:21:56.000 --> 00:21:58.000 Oh you are being to sensitive. 00:21:58.000 --> 00:21:64.000 Oh I say that to everybody. The comments 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:07.000 the wonderings that we walk around with, 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:12.000 Did she ask me that because? Did they say that because? 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:16.000 So we live today trying 00:22:16.000 --> 00:22:19.000 to figure out how to navigate a world of 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:24.000 inclusion that is different than we've ever known. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:28.000 I challenge you today as I begin to take my seat 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:32.000 to consider these three things. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:46.000 in 1962spoke at Dartmouth. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:52.000 He spoke to Dartmouth men and I was invited to be 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:58.000 the 50th anniversary speaker at Dartmouth in honor of his visit there. 00:22:58.000 --> 00:22:64.000 In preparation for that visit they sent me the video tape. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:12.000 The cassette tape not video of his speech. 00:23:12.000 --> 00:23:15.000 Also they sent me the transcript. 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:20.000 What was powerful about his speech 00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.000 is illustrated in this first concept I want to share. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:28.000 Dr. King shared in his speech how far 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:32.000 we've come since American chattel slavery 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:36.000 talked about how far we've come since JIm Crow 00:23:36.000 --> 00:23:39.000 and he shared very powerfully how we need to 00:23:39.000 --> 00:23:44.000 celebrate the great strides that we have made around race 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.000 but he reminded them in that moment that he could stop 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:52.000 there but if he did he would leave them incomplete. 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:56.000 Folks it is important for us to honor 00:23:56.000 --> 00:23:59.000 the legacy and the work of how far we have come. 00:23:59.000 --> 00:23:64.000 You must not show up in a room, must not show up in this work 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:08.000 assuming that nothing happened before you got here. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:12.000 I often am challenging young social justice advocates 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:16.000 not to show up in the arrogance that they 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:18.000 have seen it all and can fix it all 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:23.000 and so it is important to know that we have come a long way. 00:24:23.000 --> 00:24:28.000 Dr. KIng also reminded them in that speech that we've come very far 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:32.000 and let me talk about how far we need to go. 00:24:32.000 --> 00:24:39.000 So the first thing I want you to remember, yes always honor how far we've come but pay attention 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:41.000 to how we need to go. 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:47.000 The next thing is the intention and impact 00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:52.000 is the unimportant thing we need to deal with as we vision 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:56.000 a planet of inclusion for the 21st century. 00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:60.000 Because we now sit together 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.000 in classrooms, because we now go to each others events, 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:08.000 because we now have a best friend who is, 00:25:08.000 --> 00:25:12.000 because we went to the drag show, because 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:15.000 we now have gay friends in our wedding and 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:20.000 things on our Facebook. Now we can assume that we just 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.000 operate all in the best intentions. So if I 00:25:24.000 --> 00:25:28.000 said something or did something that was racist, sexist, homophobic anti-Semitic. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:32.000 Please just focus on my intentions. 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:36.000 I remind people all the time though if I walked over 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:38.000 here and stepped on President Weiss' foot. 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:41.000 And I said,Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that. 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:45.000 He says, Okay. 00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:51.000 I said, Well Mr. President I said I was sorry, I didn't mean to do that. 00:25:51.000 --> 00:25:55.000 and he said, I said okay. 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.000 Well I said, Mr. President why does it seem like you still have an attitude? 00:25:59.000 --> 00:25:61.000 Audience laughs 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:04.000 While I said I was sorry 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:08.000 what might be still going on for Mark, what might still be 00:26:08.000 --> 00:26:11.000 going on for him. Pain! 00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:16.000 His foot is probably still hurting and so 00:26:16.000 --> 00:26:20.000 as we envision a world where all of us can be included 00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.000 we must not just deal with our intentions. We must also 00:26:24.000 --> 00:26:28.000 deal with the impact and allow people opportunities 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:32.000 to move through the pain. Even if we were sorry 00:26:32.000 --> 00:26:35.000 and did not mean to do it. 00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:40.000 finally I want to offer you the importance of moving 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.000 beyond either or thinking. Folks in 00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:52.000 to get us to more inclusion. Some feel like we need to be 00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:56.000 focused on economic justice. Some say we just need to work on 00:26:56.000 --> 00:26:59.000 education. Some folks say we need to be in health care. Some folks say 00:26:59.000 --> 00:26:64.000 we gotta deal with the prison industry. There are so many 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:08.000 different injustices that are alive and well today. 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:11.000 I want you not to get caught in either or while 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:15.000 if we do this then we won't be doing that. Well if we do blacks then we can't do latinos. 00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.000 If we do asians then we can't do native americans and mexican americans. 00:27:19.000 --> 00:27:24.000 It's either or, if we do race then we can't do sex orientation. If we do sex orientation then we 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:28.000 can't do gender identity. We get stuck in either or 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:32.000 thinking. If we are to move forward we must move 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:36.000 beyond either or to both and, and to include it all. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:40.000 And look at what our part is 00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.000 All of us are not going to have the same 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:47.000 passions for every part of the dream. 00:27:47.000 --> 00:27:53.000 That's why this theme. Personalizing the Vision is so important. 00:27:53.000 --> 00:27:56.000 What is your 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:60.000 personal vision for making the world more 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:03.000 just. That's what you get to decide. 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:08.000 I've worked with lots of people and often when I'm 00:28:08.000 --> 00:28:12.000 in spaces people will say to me. Well Jamie I wish that we could just 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:16.000 do this. Why can't people just get along? Why do we have to 00:28:16.000 --> 00:28:20.000 even talk about race? Why can't we just be people? Why can't we just see 00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.000 the pink bow? Why can't people just? Why? I just wish 00:28:24.000 --> 00:28:28.000 I just wish we didn't have to talk about. I just wish 00:28:28.000 --> 00:28:32.000 we could all just get along. 00:28:32.000 --> 00:28:36.000 And I end my talks these days. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:40.000 By reminding you leaders 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.000 that a wishbone will never suffice 00:28:44.000 --> 00:28:47.000 where a backbone is required. 00:28:47.000 --> 00:28:52.000 If in fact we are to keep the dream. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:55.000 Personalize the vision. 00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:60.000 We cannot wish it into place, you must get to work 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:05.000 and make it happen. I believe you can. I hope you will. Thank you much. 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:08.000 Crowd applauding 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.000 Thank you very much. You've given us all a lot to think about 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:44.000 A lot of introspection, a lot of work to be done. Thank you very much. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:48.000 What a tradition we have here 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:52.000 another tradition that we have at Western Oregon University in conjunction 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:56.000 with our annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. celebration 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:60.000 is an essay contest. To introduce the winner of that essay contest 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.000 I present to you our English writing specialist 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:09.000 for Spanish speakers, Maria del Rosario Peralta Cortez 00:30:09.000 --> 00:30:12.000 Crowd applauding 00:30:16.000 --> 00:30:20.000 Good evening everyone 00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.000 my name is Rosario and I work at the writing center here on campus 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:28.000 and this year I have the privilege of working on the essay committee to find our winners 00:30:28.000 --> 00:30:32.000 for essay contest. The theme for this year 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:36.000 was dream keeping personalizing the vision. So we asked students 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:40.000 to reflect on the quotation of Dr. King that kind of reflected that. 00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.000 More specifically we asked them to to kind of explain their role in maintaining the integrity 00:30:44.000 --> 00:30:48.000 of the dream within their daily lives and within the community. 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:52.000 We have three awesome winners. 00:30:52.000 --> 00:30:56.000 Who get gift certificates to the bookstore in the amounts of $130 00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.000 Our third place winner was Tania [Crowd clapping] 00:31:12.000 --> 00:31:17.000 Our second place winner was Anna Jessica Camarena 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:27.000 Our first place winner is actually 00:31:27.000 --> 00:31:32.000 he gets to come up here and share his essay with us 00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:36.000 so we get to listen his words. Joseph Hahn if you could come up here 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:48.000 Thank you Rosario 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:52.000 I'm not going to stay here very long 00:31:52.000 --> 00:31:56.000 it's definitely not my specialty. I'm an English major so I 00:31:56.000 --> 00:31:60.000 did have to write so what do you know 00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.000 The title of this essay is Waking Up Together. I'm going to read Martin Luther King's quote first 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:12.000 fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has 00:32:12.000 --> 00:32:16.000 it's protectors of status quo its fraternities of the indifferent 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:20.000 who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.000 on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:28.000 and to face the challenge of change. And now the essay 00:32:28.000 --> 00:32:32.000 Throughout most of my life the major 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:36.000 connection I have made with Dr. King has been his 'I have a Dream' speech. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:40.000 But he should be remembered for so much more. 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.000 Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:48.000 King mentions how 'too many people fail to remain awake through great periods 00:32:48.000 --> 00:32:52.000 of social change. I relate King's words to social justice advocate 00:32:52.000 --> 00:32:56.000 Desmond Tutu who stated: 'If you are neutral in situations 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:60.000 of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. 00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.000 Both of these phrases reveal how our society needs to wake up in order 00:33:04.000 --> 00:33:08.000 to end injustice. We choose to advocate for what is convenient 00:33:08.000 --> 00:33:12.000 or popular, but not for what makes us feel passionate. 00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:16.000 Many of us stop advocating when media 00:33:16.000 --> 00:33:20.000 attention goes away and we fall back asleep. In order to see change 00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.000 in the world, we must remain awake. 00:33:24.000 --> 00:33:28.000 To keep Dr. King's dream alive, I have made every single day 00:33:28.000 --> 00:33:32.000 an act of passion. I am constantly reading about worldwide injustices 00:33:32.000 --> 00:33:36.000 and asking questions about what I can do to make a difference. 00:33:36.000 --> 00:33:40.000 I know as a student one of the largest impacts I can make is here at Western Oregon University. 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.000 Now of course I cannot do everything alone. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:48.000 I am one person and I am unable to know everything or do everything. 00:33:48.000 --> 00:33:53.000 But I still work on bettering the world around me one action at a time. 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:56.000 I am a Landers Resident Assistant 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:60.000 and the Vice President of WOU's LGBTQ student organization Triangle Alliance. 00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.000 These two positions provide me the opportunity to impact our campus 00:34:04.000 --> 00:34:08.000 and myself in many ways. Last year 00:34:08.000 --> 00:34:12.000 I taught an activity titled 'Where do I Stand?' to my Resident Assistant staff. 00:34:12.000 --> 00:34:16.000 We explored the concept of Intersectionality and how we made 00:34:16.000 --> 00:34:20.000 up and influenced by multiple identities. 00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.000 By learning how we as RAs are made up of different identities, 00:34:24.000 --> 00:34:28.000 we are able to honor the different identities our residents have 00:34:28.000 --> 00:34:32.000 so they can feel valued and supported at Western. 00:34:32.000 --> 00:34:37.000 No matter who we are, we are all connected, and together we can make a difference in our communities. 00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:44.000 One way I make this difference is by being public about who I am and what I stand for. 00:34:44.000 --> 00:34:48.000 I am doing this for representation, not attention. When I was in 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:52.000 high school I did not see others taking a stand and showing pride for who they are. 00:34:52.000 --> 00:34:56.000 I was ashamed of my sexuality and did not have many peers who 00:34:56.000 --> 00:34:60.000 I could look up to. I felt alone, and I almost took my own life. 00:35:00.000 --> 00:35:04.000 But I knew my dream was not over yet, so I kept fighting. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.000 I graduated high school believing I could not afford to go to Western, 00:35:08.000 --> 00:35:12.000 but the day after I graduated I was told I received the Diversity 00:35:12.000 --> 00:35:18.000 Commitment Scholarship. I had an opportunity to change my life and follow my dreams, and I fully embraced it. 00:35:19.000 --> 00:35:24.000 Each day I work to be the role model I lacked in high school. I want every student at WOU to be 00:35:24.000 --> 00:35:28.000 proud about who they are. I want us to be awake and know how 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:32.000 to speak for ourselves and help each other. I am devoted to 00:35:32.000 --> 00:35:36.000 spreading education about social justice on a 00:35:36.000 --> 00:35:40.000 college campus, and I am now seeking a career within Student Affairs so I can 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:43.000 dedicate my life to impacting the lives of college students. 00:35:43.000 --> 00:35:48.000 In order for change to happen, whether it be on campus or worldwide, 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:52.000 we must be vocal. We cannot be indifferent about the pain others suffer. 00:35:52.000 --> 00:35:55.000 We must stand together and fight for a common cause. 00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:60.000 Advocacy should not suffer from the bystander effect. 00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.000 We cannot wait for someone else to call out injustice, we need to be the one advocating 00:36:04.000 --> 00:36:07.000 for change and leading the charge. 00:36:07.000 --> 00:36:12.000 We cannot achieve change alone, but because we are all interconnected, we can combine our energies 00:36:12.000 --> 00:36:16.000 together to make a difference. Our campus is filled with different initiatives and programs 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:20.000 that can collaborate to impact our students. Abby's House, Safe Zone, 00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.000 MSSP, and so many other organizations exist to make 00:36:24.000 --> 00:36:28.000 a difference in our community. I am not involved with everything, 00:36:28.000 --> 00:36:32.000 but I follow the Green Dot model: 'no one has to do everything, but everyone has to do something. 00:36:32.000 --> 00:36:36.000 We must find something to be passionate about and show each other and 00:36:36.000 --> 00:36:40.000 the world our passion. And with this passion, we will begin to wake each other up and change the world. 00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:43.000 Thank you 00:36:43.000 --> 00:36:48.000 Crowd Applauding