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[piano music] Destler>> President of RIT is it my distinct
pleasure to welcome you all as we commemorate our 32nd annual celebration in honor of Doctor
Martin Luther King Jr. [applause]
Poets>>Simon... Simon... Simon says... give up! We are women - cast into this world with
a predisposition... condemning our bodies to be objects. You have heard this all before!
There is nothing new in this struggle! [applause]
Cutris>> I have a dream for the future that is too beautiful to keep balled up in my heart.
When I look at the present situation I realize that my dream is possibly the light needed
to dispel the dark degradation. [applause]
Smiley>>While I could debate you on Abraham Lincoln... I could debate you on FDR.... there
are a lot of great Americans... no doubt about it. [It is] Because of the service and the
sacrifice and the struggle of many, that we are here today. But to my mind, Dr. Martin
Luther King is the greatest American this country has ever produced. All these years
later, how seriously we take his legacy determines the very fate and future of our very democracy.
King's life ultimately was about : Justice for all, Service to others, and a Love that
liberates people. That's his life in a nutshell. Now, in his lifetime there were three specific
things that Dr. King was trying to get us to focus on... so that we could in fact save
our democracy. Those three issues are the very issues that we are wrestling with today.
King called these three issues the "Triple Threat"... The Triple Threat. Racism, Poverty
and Militarism. If we don't understand that all of us - all of our lives - are worthy...
all of our lives have equal value... If we can't figure that out now... then when? If
not now then when? If not here then where? If not us... then who?
McDonald>> Thank-you for challenging us Tavis. Thank-you for all of the performers today.
You left us enriched! Definitely. Darko>> It tells us that, we have to make
that change. And it is not... We don't do it so that we look good. We don't do it so
that we feel good. We do it so that we DO good. And that is what stood out to me.
Johnson>> Little did we know - or shall I say: little did I know - that Dr. King was
looked upon or spoken of with negativity. And I am glad that Tavis Smiley had an opportunity
to enlighten us today. So I will take what I learned today so that I can teach my children,
and so that they can tell their friends. And each one can teach one.
[Singing]