10.

On Tuesday night I attended a lecture on the legacy of BU alumnus, Martin Luther King, Jr. The evening opened with a panel discussion between many prominent scholars on peace, race, and philosophy, as well as two of MLK’s relatives. Following the discussion, there was a poetry reading from another BU Alum, Sonia Sanchez, and finally the headliner Paul Rusesabagina, survivor of the Rwandan genocide and cultural icon, lectured.

The questions of the evening revolved around the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. How, in the 21^st Century, is his legacy present and how should we push on as a community to keep his legacy alive?

Questions of such force are bound to produce answers of equal weight – I think that’s Newton, right?

Christine King Farris, sister of MLK, Jr. and faculty at Spelman College opened by discussing the influence of education on her brother and the importance of education on influencing new baby brains that will become full-grown citizens one day. Quoting her brother, HG Wells, and eventually our President, she reminded the audience of the King family tradition, and in her own way, keeping the legacy of her brother alive by echoing his masterful oratory skills. Ultimately promoting the integration of human dignity and human rights education in public schools she delivered what served as an emotionally appealing address, but one that lacked pragmatic reasoning or logistical planning.

The most poignant speaker, in my opinion, Dr. Walter Fluker, Executive Director of the Leadership Center and Professor at Morehouse College. Dr. Flukerattempted to answer the question, “Will there be another MLK?” His response, “Maybe, but she won’t be made in America.” After this provocative initial engagement, he went on to explain that the greatest challenge we human beings face is that of cosmopolitanism. More clearly, that to take seriously the global conflicts saturating our international community and learn to effectively negotiate religion, culture, sexuality, politics, and histories in order to live together in (get this) peace is our greatest contemporary challenge. In a word: yes.

I couldn’t agree more. This, of course, would mean that centuries of subconscious training to believe that each individual’s country is exceptional, and just (and in the case of America, simply following it’s diving calling to spread ‘freedom’ across this Earth) would suddenly and effectively be eradicated from human understanding so that human understanding may finally begin to grow. Yes, this is quite a challenge.

My immediate reflections of the panel discussion led me to some consistently troubling thoughts about education that I have. It is remarkable that people with such undeniable agency are engaging in discourse about education as a right coupled with nonviolent philosophies that have at their nucleus, love, to make powerful changes in this world. These educators are doing good things and have noble goals driving them.

But, I can’t help but think about what types of people, on a general scale, their noble goals will touch. These professors on the stage hailed from some of the top universities in the nation, all private institutions, and all very, very expensive. The reach of their educational influence is therefore limited. Extremely. However, what we are talking about is reawakening the memory of the general public. Reviving a national consciousness amongst our youth so they can extend peaceful arms towards the global community. These discussions help, any discussion helps, but I guess, at this stage in my life, after leaving public school teaching, after realizing what can be possible, I am looking for more immediate results that can effect the public – not the selective few that attend top universities. This is the trouble with education and justice, both are limited in reach, and the latter depends so much on the effectiveness of the former. Together both hold the promise of a world where understanding is possible, but I can't help from wonder how it will be possible to touch everyone with the type of education that stirs the emotions of understanding...not just the fortunate ones.