As he boarded a plane bound for America, Megheta Serad left his father in Ethiopia with words of comfort in his absence, said Morris Dees last night in the keynote address for the two-week celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. at Spaulding auditorium.
"He said, Dad, I'm going to make you proud." Serad never strayed from his promise, and he was soon honored as the employee of the year for Avis Rent-A-Car company. Sadly, his tenure with Avis was cut brutally short.
Three skinheads, roused by the speech of a disciple of the White Aryan Resistance, transposed Serad's father's pride into grief with the strikes of an aluminum baseball bat, ending his young life.
The culprits were promptly caught and sentenced to lengthy jail terms" but the hate group that fueled the skinheads' crime had not yet been brought to justice.
As chief council for the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization renowned for litigating against hate groups, Dees successfully sued the founder and leader of the White Aryan Resistance, Tom Metzger, to the tune of $12 million in damages.
While serving as his own lawyer during the trial, Metzger regurgitated his belief that America was built by whites and undermined by people of color, to which Dees offered a firm refutation.
"I said, ladies and gentlemen, the American that Tom Metzger believes in is an America that never existed," he said. "It's great because of our diversity, not in spite of it."
Dees' message of justice and hope saturated, but did not burden, his speech in Spaulding hall.
Through his work with the SPLC, Dees has seen the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. flourish in America. He related a story of Billings, Montana residents who displayed hanukkah menorahs in their windows in a show of solidarity in response to a hate crime that targeted a Jewish family.
Despite the many triumphs left by the legacy of the civil rights movement, Dees reminded his audience that there is still much to be done.
He ascribed the duty of smothering discrimination once and for all to the emerging generation, which he believes will be defined by this achievement.
"And one day, somebody's going to write your story -- it may be one of you -- the story will be, I predict, of America's greatest generation."
Dees disparaged the intrusion of the Bush administration into the case involving the University of Michigan Law School's use of affirmative action in the admissions process, which will soon come before the Supreme Court.
In his introductory remarks, President James Wright echoed Dees' sentiment supporting affirmative action in admissions to a round of applause.
"This commitment will be sustained in the absence of these [affirmative action laws] if unfortunately this becomes necessary," Wright said.
Dees said he strongly supported affirmative action as long as inequalities still hobbled American society.
"America has always believed in affirmative action, always" for the privileged," he said.
He cited the preferential treatment of World War II veterans upon their return home as an example of affirmative action that is largely ignored by anti-affirmative action advocates.
American heroism during the terrorist attacks of 9/11 made for another glaring example of hypocrisy in the anti-civil rights camp. One of the patriots celebrated by many Americans, including biased ones, for rushing the terrorists on flight 93 was Jewish and another homosexual.
Dees also criticized the belief held by a growing number of Americans who think discrimination is no longer an influential factor in society.
Experts estimate that 50,000 hate crimes were committed last year alone. There are 600 known hate groups and 350 hate web sites, but only one percent of all hate crimes are committed by members of one of these groups.
In order to address the less obvious roots of bias, Dees said the SLPC produces movies, one of which has won an Academy Award, and distributes educational programs to primary and secondary schools across the nation. The SLPC also maintains a database of activity on various hate groups through its website.
When asked what could be done to weaken discrimination in isolated, homogenous communities, Dees recommended that they be subjected to discrimination first-hand so as to learn its frustrating effects.
"It's giving people the opportunity to have the door shut on them before you even have the opportunity to show what you can do," he said.
Co-founded by Dees in 1971, the SLPC comprises 350,000 consistent contributors, but has suffered a 16 percent drop in membership and loss of six percent of its annual funds since 9/11.
Aquila Raiford '03, the President of the Afro-American Society, presided over the celebration. Visiting English Professor Nancy Jay Crumbine offered a prayer for coherence and peace in the introductory reflection.
