Over 200 students had ringside seats to see Don King -- heralded as the "greatest promoter of all time" -- discuss racism and the history of America last night in 105 Dartmouth Hall.
However, King's description of Native Americans during the question-and-answer session that followed the speech offended many students.
The controversial part of the evening started when King began to answer a question about Native Americans and how they fit into his picture of America's history.
King's answer included a description of "Indians running around the plains, shooting bows and arrows and smoking the peace pipe," which brought uncomfortable laughter from the audience.
He later described the white American as "the best player I ever met," and said, "I mean, you can't get mad at the white man for winning." Some in the audience snickered while others gaped in disbelief.
"You white folks don't know how it is," he told members of the audience. "You got to have the complexion to get the protection."
Mary Hill '97, who asked King the question about Native Americans, expressed dismay at King's answer, saying afterward, "It's too bad that another person of color would have such a warped view of a fellow minority group."
The evening began when Richard Farely '55 introduced King as a "family man, a man you don't see in the boxing ring." King then stepped up to the podium and proved Farely right. This was not the King seen at prize fights, the maniacally energetic boxing promoter, but a more subdued King.
In his speech, King discussed the history of slavery and racism in the United States. During the lecture, several audience members and King's own bodyguard nodded off periodically, while King went over historical events from John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry to the Holocaust.
One of King's points that drew applause was his redefinition of Black History Month.
"This isn't black history," he said, "this is American history."
Another comment that went over well with students was King's justification of his own capitalism, a statement that he gave enough back to the government -- specifically, $30 million.
His speech was followed by what he called "the fun part," where he took questions from the audience.
The evening ended with King performing in his well-known, boisterous style as he fielded questions about boxing, and in particular, Mike Tyson.
"I didn't care who won that fight, just as long as it happened," King said, referring to the Tyson-Evander Holyfield bout in which Tyson bit Holyfield's ear. "But [Tyson] found a way to screw it up," King said.
Also, King cleared up a long-standing debate when he said unequivocally that Muhammad "Ali was truly the greatest."
The speech was presented by the Afro-American Society as a part of their Black History Month speaker series, "The Journey: Evolution of a People."
