A crowd sat silently, yet moved in Old Cabell Hall last night when guest speaker Rev. Benjamin Hooks recounted the final speech given by Martin Luther King Jr. on April 3, 1968.
"We've come a long way - but we still have a long way to go," Hooks said, reiterating King's message from his final speech, "I've Been to the Mountaintop."
Hooks was one of 3,000 people present in Memphis, Tenn., for King's last words.
Hooks spoke as part of "Abiding and Audacious Faith: The Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," organized by Latasha Levy, interim assistant dean of the Office of African American Affairs, Karen Holt, director of the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and Ajay Nair, assistant dean of students.
Hooks has spent much of his life, devoted to advancing the civil rights of African Americans. In his early years of activism, he served as a member of King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Hooks, both a lawyer and minister, became Tennessee's first black criminal court judge in 1965, the first black appointee to the Federal Communications Commission under the Nixon administration in 1972 and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)'s executive director from 1976 until 1992.
Hooks "paved the way for students like myself to reach for the stars," said fourth-year College student Ben Williams. "He's a real influence on us."
University students and organizations also celebrated King's birthday through song, dance, video and poetry readings in Old Cabell Hall.
Fourth-year College student James Nowlin read King's 1964 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. presented a series of slides commemorating the leader's life. King was a member of the fraternity.
The Mahogany Dance Troupe performed a lyrical dance and first-year College student Sarah Kiah concluded the program with the hymn, "Lift Every Voice and Sing."
Today, Hooks will contribute his oral history to a project called "Explorations in Black Leadership," which History lecturer Julian Bond and history Professor Phyllis Leffler started two years ago.
"Explorations" already has recorded the oral histories of almost 13 black leaders.
Hearing Hooks' account "literally makes the textbook and the pages not in it, come alive," said Keonna Carter, mistress of ceremonies and third-year College student.
"It was truly a history lesson," Dean of African-American Affairs M. Rick Turner said.
Co-sponsors of the event included the Office of African American Affairs, the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs, the Office of the Dean of Students, the Center for Religion and Democracy, the Institute for Public History, the Cultural Programming Board and the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration.
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