European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 17, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday. January 17, 1994 King s dream the stars and stripes Page 3 March to Freedom called slow going by the stars and Stripe the stars and stripes asked several prominent Black americans to assess the status of the Rev. Martin Luther King or s dream of racial Equality. Here Are their responses. Less civility 30 years later Edwin Dorn is the assistant Secretary of defense for personnel and readiness and the highest ranking Black civilian in the defense department. I see King s essential message As a Call for Basic human decency and civility and Mutual respect. So the question is Are we really a More decent a More civil society than we were 30 years ago is the world a More decent or civil place in which to live do we see an improvement in human rights sadly the evidence is Retty mixed. I think we d e hard pressed to say that in our society people treat one another More civilly or More decently today than 30 years ago. That encompasses not Only the rising crime rates but also such things Dorn As How kids behave in school toward one another and toward teachers or for that matter How politicians one another in electoral campaigns. On the world stage we be got an equally mixed picture. For example on one hand it seems we re moving in an encouraging direction in South on the other hand we have an outbreak of mass brutality in what used to be Yugoslavia. Unfortunately i m not sure i see a great increase in Basic human decency compared to 30 years a fila the Rev. Martin Luther King or. Second from right smiles As president Lyndon b. Johnson offers a pen used in signing the 1964 civil rights Bill White and Black Are the ones that introduced the pain of racism into this country and that the whole stance of the Community is to pretend that it is not True. And with James Joyce i would say that history is a Nightmare and that we Are All prisoners of that Nightmare Hill hearing contorted dream Martin would have cried Barbara Chase Riboud is an african american artist poet and writer living in Paris. She s Best known for her 1979 novel Sally Hemings about Thomas Jefferson s Black mistress. Nobody will deny that some advances have been made since the 1 have a dream speech. But watching the Anita Hill Case on television was the most depressing thing i be seen. Seldom have i witnessed such disrespect As she was subjected to. At that hearing the Martin Luther King dream and the american dream was contorted beyond recognition. I think it demonstrated that the dream is still beyond ultimate reach for Black people in America. With Jimmy Baldwin i would agree that one of our great faults As americans is ignoring the fact that we Wilbert a. Tatum is publisher of the new York Amsterdam news the oldest Black weekly newspaper in the United states. I for one am Happy that Martin Luther King or. Left this Earth on that fateful april afternoon in ,1968. He had already been to the Mountaintop and had made peace with his maker. He had Long since seen his promised land his death came after the great civil rights Bills and victories of 65, 66, 67 and 68 during the Johnson administration following the assassination of John , whose vision foreshadowed these american accomplishments. His death came after a Nobel peace prize a near fateful stabbing in Harlem and when dozens of Black men and women through his pioneering efforts had begun to win Public office even in the South. Martin s life was taken from him during his last peaceful protest. As i followed the funeral cortege to Atlanta his final resting place i had High Hopes that his life would not have been in vain. Now 30 years later that Hope of so Many years ago is fading As i watch the world turn so far to the right and where bigotry nazism racism totalitarianism racism ethnic cleansing and Dollar worship flourish in the Bosnia to Berlin from new York to Moscow from Warsaw to Rio there is this political movement fanned by hatred that will ultimately take the world Down the would Martin think if he looked Down and saw this modern Day spectacle of Man s inhumanity to Man Martin would have foes of Freedom still exist Michael Lamberg is president of the National association for the advancement of coloured people s european conference of branches based in Heidelberg Germany. Or King s address highlighted the foes who manifested the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. Those foes still exist today acting through their Covert Means and unique promissory note which every american was to fall heir to still carries the Mark of insufficient funds. In the process of our country rising above the Quicksand of racial injustice to the solid Rock of brotherhood we Are reminded by existent social and economic Lamberg factors that the strides of Success for african americans have fallen grossly Short 30 years still exists for All americans and by this evidence it is Clear that America has not sincerely taken the pledge to end discrimination. Martin s dream is living and growing but the Speed is too Fate As a people is to untangle the jangling discords of our Hope. If the Freedom Bell is truly to be heard then let America keep delivering the blows of Freedom for human and racial Equality and by her example we the people Black White jews an gentiles protestants and catholics will gladly be Able to sing free at last free at last great god almighty free at last contributing to this report staff writers de a ovals in Germany and Chuck Vinch in Washington . We Haven t gotten by Craig Martin staff writer air Force maj. Patricia a. Meier chief of Supply at Rhein main a Germany said the world has a Long Way to go be fore reaching the dream that the Rev. Martin Luther King or. Spoke of. King was t just talking about relation ships Between Blacks and Whites in America said Meier commander of the 435th Supply so. All kids Blacks Whites jews Gen tiles it does t matter Well All be treated equally said Meier a native of Dudley n.c., who has been selected for promotion to lieutenant colonel. Still we Haven t gotten there All the there Are obstacles that keep Many from reaching for the dream. One of them Meier said is the negative lyrics found in some rap music. I have a problem with people trying to say that rap is a reflection of Black culture she said. If it is it s a reflection of the negative Side of our culture. Just see it As another Way of Meier 38, decries the tendency for some Black youths to express themselves with negative words negative actions attacks against people or degrading a person who s Black White or is Ken Georga maj. Patricia a Meier commander of the 435th Supply so at Rhein main a Ger Many believes the lyrics found in some rap music Are an obstacle to Equality. I m concerned because we seem to be someone s different color until someone reversing the trend toward Equality brings that to their she said. In order to change attitudes we Meier and her husband Rick Are sex have to Start with the Young kids peeling their first child who will be most children will not ask you about named Calvin next week. My husband is caucasian so our child will be of mixed race she said. So up until someone says you know what your mom s Black and your dad s White he probably would t notice except for the fact that i m a Little bit dark and my husband s lighter. Someday he s going to come Home and say what docs that mean you re Black and dad s White " Meier said people should take their Cue from King s widow Coretta Scott King and refocus on Martin s dream because we re losing it a Little More has to be done in people s Day to Day lives to reach King s Equality goal she added. To press Forward she said people have to Stop looking Back. It s going to take a Complete Genera Tion change Meier said. We still have to get that generation that has Strong memories that keep wanting to go Back All the time. At what Point do we As Blacks or As any race or nationality Stop asking society to repay those injustices that happened in the past you can t keep blaming society for that she said. I keep it in the Back of my mind. But you gotta keep Pushin
