CSC celebrates MLK Jr. Day
In a day of student and staff speakers, a film screening and a march, Chadron State College celebrated the life of Martin Luther King Jr, the African-American activist known for his work in bringing civil rights revolution to America.
The day started at 9 a.m. with “Bloody Lowndes”, a presentation by Dr. David Nesheim, assistant professor of Justice Studies, Social Sciences & English. Nesheim told the story of Lowndes County, Alabama, a place in the “heart of the deep south” known for experiencing violent cases of racism. Lowndes County was not only part of Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic Selma march, but it was also the birthplace of the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, a political party organized by Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) activist Stokely Carmichael.
Following Nesheim’s presentation Dr. Thomas Smith, assistant professor of Justice Studies, Social Sciences & English presented “Rural Protest in Apartheid South Africa,” which focused on early South African reform movements. Smith highlighted the relationship between Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress and South African rural constituencies and the tension between rural and urban activism.
After both presentations “Selma”, a film highlighting Martin Luther King Jr.’s march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, was screened from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
After a one-hour break, students and community members met at Common Cents gas station for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Walk. Signs such as “Hate Has No Home Here” and “Let Freedom Ring” were displayed during the walk, which ended at Chadron State’s clocktower. Though the walk had a better turnout than last year’s, Nesheim said he would like to see more CSC students participate in MLK Day events.
“It’s great to see (CSC) students here, but I would like to see more. Obviously some can’t make it because of classes, but the Job Corps takes the day off in celebration of MLK Day, and there are plenty more people from Job Corps here than students from CSC,” Nesheim said.
“My Story,” a panel led by students Bri’Yanna Lyon, sophomore of Fountain, Colorado, and Jeff Mugongo, junior of Aurora, Colorado, explored issues relating to diversity and personal experiences with issues such as racism, police relations and cultural differences. Title IX Coordinator Ted Tewahade served as panel moderator and participated as well.
When discussing tips for dealing with racist comments, Lyon said racial remarks still get “under her skin,” but recommended using the comments as an education opportunity instead.
“I know that it [racial comments] still does get under a lot of people’s skin, and I know that it gets under mine,” Lyon said, “but I feel like now, in the time and day that we are in, it should be more of an educating experience instead of you becoming ignorant back as well. Because we’re portrayed as already being ignorant when we backlash, so if we handle it in a way, as far as educating people, then they can never say that we didn’t help them understand.”
However, there are times that being an African-American means experiencing fear that others do not. Mugongo described a time when he was walking from his home to a park and a police officer pulled up to him and began questioning him. At this point, Mugongo said he “didn’t really speak English,” so when the officer began asking him if he had weapons on him and for permission to search him, Mugongo was scared. After a search the officer let him go, but the incident left an impression and cemented his fear of cops.
“I’ll continue having that fear of ‘Maybe this might be my last day’, because what I saw, what I see, I don’t think that feeling will go away,” Mugongo said.
Tewahade said that racism is everywhere “whether it is intentional or unintentional,” noting that when we “say some things or do some things, there can be connotations behind (our actions) whether it was intended or not.” Colleges can present a unique situation because prejudices can be more “concentrated” than in other communities, but ultimately we can choose to learn from it, according to Tewahade.
“We’re kind of forced to live together. All my stereotypes are going to come straight forward, and then I’m going to have to figure out how to separate that from experiences. I’m going to beat them, and I’m going to be like ‘Well, that’s not what I expected,’…I think we have do have our prejudices, we’re going to bring them on campus, and I think it’s more concentrated on campus than it is off campus, but we can choose to learn from it,” Tewahade said.