King’s teachings continue

It’s 6:35 p.m. Monday at the Teter Formal Lounge, and still nobody has arrived to attend the 6:30 p.m. Martin Luther King Experience. The event leaders, community educator Ashley Green and resident assistant LaDortha Mitchell, resorted to pulling people out of the hallways to attend.\nHowever, the small turnout was made up for by intimate conversation dealing with issues such as race, discrimination, ignorance and stereotypes. For sophomore Green and senior Mitchell, it was the first time running the event. \n“(Racism is) not overt, it’s covert,” Mitchell said. “So just look around.”\nStudents were first placed in a situation where a name tag was taped on their backs. On the name tag was a person’s profile, for example, a 42 year-old white business owner. Based on their description, they were told by others to move to the front or back of the bus, which was created by an arrangement of couches and chairs in the lounge. The purpose of the situation was to replicate the bus boycott days.\nThe somewhat awkward bus scenario that students were put through was joined by some joke-cracking and laughter that covered the animosity that once prevailed in the times of the bus boycott. However, high moods dissimilated as the booming voice of Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech played through a \nstereo.\nThe greater portion of the event was reserved for discussion, where Green would ask a controversial question to the group, who would then answer and debate.\nAlthough numerous people missed out on Monday evening’s discussion, the small group that attended benefitted more from the personal conversation that sprouted.\n“A lot of racism comes from ignorance, and if we can have more programs like this we can help people better understand (however) it’s a slow process,” said sophomore Brittney Paulk.