Each year in January, the dreams and victories of Martin Luther King Jr. are celebrated across the United States.More than 600 people packed into the Colvard Student Union Ballroom Monday morning to celebrate King’s life and the impact he had on society. Stephen Middleton, African-American studies director, said the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Unity Breakfast has outgrown every venue in which it has been held and continues to expand every year.
Noted guests at the event included university President Robert “Doc” Foglesong, Starkville Mayor Dan Camp and trial lawyer Gregory Craig, the keynote speaker. Craig, who is a partner in the Williams and Connolly Law Firm in Washington D.C., was appointed assistant to the President and special counsel in the White House in 1998 by then President Bill Clinton.
In 1963, at the age of 18, he participated in the march on Washington D.C., where he stood a mere 20 feet away from the podium when King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Craig’s passion was instantly sparked, and he has been a strong civil rights advocate ever since.
Craig helped recruit student workers during 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer, a campaign organized to register African-Americans in the state to vote.
During his speech, Craig described King as a disciplined leader who brought people together with his message and never allowed that message to be pragmatic or blurred.
“Dr. King picked tactics and strategies that appealed to and reinforced the best instincts of the American people. He called on the best of us rather than attacking the worst of us,” Craig said. “In this he was profoundly pro-American, I think, and believed in the essence of the united country living up to its ideal.”
Craig said King would be proud to know that society today is a lot different than the one he lived in.
“He would be thrilled to see so many African-Americans across the United States engaged in the political process,” he said. “Voting for the candidate of their choice – that’s a huge change.”
Though there have been positive changes since King’s death, he would have been completely disappointed that the United States is still divided in many ways, Craig said.
“[He’d be disappointed in] the fact that 47 million people are still without health insurance,” he said. “The fact that a child in this country can still go to bed hungry without medical care and millions do.”
Craig said King would have also been disappointed that America is, as it was in 1958, a nation divided by war.
“He would be sad that Americans again are in a distant land killing and being killed and admiring the cause that our military cannot possibly win with barbs or bullets.”
To conclude the event, the Black Voices Choir sang, and Foglesong presented Craig with a cowbell to commemorate his time at MSU.
“While these are officially banned in the SEC … they’re not banned here,” Foglesong said.
Camp presented Craig with a plaque honoring him for his work throughout Mississippi.
Among those who showed up to honor King was John Forde, head of the department of communication. He said he has attended the event for a number of years.
“There is always a very diverse crowd, very good speaker and good music,” he said. “It’s a uniting event for the community.