In his keynote address for the College's celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day yesterday, Stanford University History Professor Clayborne Carson said King should be honored as a leader whose message still has relevance today-- not as an outdated historical figure.
Later in the evening, several faculty members and students gave a performance which enacted many writings by and about King.
In his speech titled "Martin Luther King Jr. in the Age of Malcolm X," Carson said King and his message are "too interesting to be embalmed" in the historical legend.
"For many young black people growing up, King has no more relevance than George Washington or Abraham Lincoln," Carson said.
King should not represent the entire civil rights movement, Carson said.
"We see someone who emerged out of the struggle rather than started the struggle," Carson said of King.
Carson also stressed the importance of King's non-violent teachings. "What we're talking about, in terms of non-violence, is a means by which people who are middle aged and people who are poor, can play an active role in their liberation," he said.
Another theme of Carson's speech was the lack of political action in the present. "We live in a time of attitude rather than politics," he said.
Carson spoke to an audience of about 70 people in Dartmouth Hall.
Before Carson's address, College President James Freedman described how King had spoken in the same room in Dartmouth Hall 34 years ago.
King was assassinated in 1968. His widow, Corretta Scott King, named Carson the director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project in 1985.
Carson's work for the project enabled him to write a historically factual play, "Passages of Martin Luther King," an excerpt of which was performed last night at the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts.
A variety of students and faculty members enacted "Passages of Martin Luther King," a collection of speeches and writings by and about King.
The readings followed King's life from his early childhood to his assassination and discussed the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Malcolm X, the Vietnam War and Kings involvement in the Civil Rights movement.
The performance included Freedman reading as Kennedy, Dean of the College Lee Pelton as Malcolm X, English Chair William Cook as Martin Luther King Sr. and Simeon Anderson '97 as Martin Luther King Jr.
Anderson was a last-minute replacement for Director of Alumni Relations Nelson Armstrong, who was originally scheduled to play King Jr. but fell ill before the performance.
The Dartmouth Gospel Choir also took part in the production, as did Sandra Spiegel of the Counseling and Human Relations office. Slides and videos from the time periods described in the readings accompanied the performance.
A panel discussion followed the performance of "Passages of Martin Luther King."
Events continued throughout the day. At 6 p.m. the Afro-American Society held a candlelight vigil, which started at Cutter-Shabazz Hall, in memory of King.
