The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. is best remembered as a civil rights leaders whose Aug. 28, 1963 \u201cI have a dream … \u201d speech inspired a generation. In it, he challenged the crowd of 300,000 in Washington, D.C., to pursue a society in which people are judged not for the color of their skin but for the content of their character.<\/p>\n
But on April 4, 1967, King delivered another speech at New York City\u2019s Riverside Church \u00a0\u2014 and in it, he was just as impassioned in calling for an end to the Vietnam War:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation,\u201d King said in the \u201cBeyond Vietnam\u201d speech. \u201cThe choice is ours and \u2014 though we might prefer it otherwise \u2014 we must choose in this crucial moment of human history.\u201d<\/p>\n
His words echoed Monday morning through the Memorial Union Ballroom at Oregon State University, where the the 300 people in attendance observed the national holiday at OSU\u2019s 30th annual Peace Brunch.<\/p>\n
Keynote speaker Robert Thompson, an African-American studies professor in OSU\u2019s ethnic studies department, said the New York peace speech signaled a moment in King\u2019s intellectual journey where his \u201cstance on nonviolence became more assertive.\u201d There, King spoke precisely on the U.S.\u2019s role in fostering what Thompson called the \u201ctriplets of misery\u201d: racism, economic inequality and American imperialism.<\/p>\n
…<\/p>\n
President Ed Ray reflected on the April 1967 peace speech in his remarks by acknowledging that King knew he would spark controversy with his firm anti-war stance. Ray said he wondered if King felt a sense of urgency with his words; King was assassinated exactly a year later in Memphis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to sustain this struggle,\u201d Ray said.<\/p>\n
…<\/p>\n
The brunch included performance by Outspoken, OSU\u2019s men\u2019s a capella group, poetry recited by OSU student Anderson DuBoise III, a traditional strolling presentation by a fraternity and sorority, and an awards presentation.<\/p>\n
Eric Hansen, the associate director of University Housing and Dining Services, was presented with the Phyllis S. Lee Award. It is named after the former director of OSU\u2019s office of multicultural affairs. Jodi Nelson, the executive assistant to the vice provost of student affairs, was presented with the Frances Dancy Hooks Award, who is named after the civil rights activist who joined her husband at the university in 1994 to give the keynote address at the Peace Brunch.<\/p>\n