[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 23 (Monday, February 26, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E205]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PERSPECTIVES ON CIVIL RIGHTS AND RACISM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, February 26, 2001

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following article ``King 
Assembly Presents Unique Perspectives on Civil Rights, Racism'' from 
the February Edition of Cranbrook Kingswood Crane-Clarion student 
newspaper, which follows, for inclusion in the Congressional Record.

      [From the Cranbrook Kingswood Crane-Clarion, February 2001]

   King Assembly Presents Unique Perspectives on Civil Rights, Racism

                            (By Noah Peters)

       At the outset of the 2001 Martin Luther King, Jr. assembly, 
     held January 24th at the Kingswood Gym, Cranbrook headmaster 
     George Swope said that this year's assembly would focus less 
     on the life of King and more on how King affected the lives 
     of others. In essence, the assembly strove to inspire 
     appreciation of Dr. King through personal introspection on 
     the legacy, as opposed to being a history lesson.
       In that spirit, the program featured many unique segments. 
     Among them was a piece, ``Who Am I?,'' featuring several 
     students and staff reading short monologues as victims of 
     prejudice against different kinds of people. For example, 
     senior Mike Mahdi read one as an African-American who others 
     think got his job based on his race, not merit; Maureen 
     Briske, administrative assistant Kingswood Dean Fran 
     Dagbovie, addressed prejudice and arrogance against 
     secretarial workers; English teacher Chris MacDonald read the 
     words of what a new and misunderstood teacher might feel.
       Others spoke as handicapped persons, foreign people, and 
     various ethnic groups. The purpose was to show that racism 
     and other forms of prejudice are still prevalent in the 
     attitudes of the majority by citing examples of cases in 
     which it occurs. ``Injustice everywhere'' was a major target 
     of King's movement.
       Another segment featured a panel of speakers, mostly 
     teachers, who shared their personal experiences concerning 
     Dr. King and the civil rights era. The first speaker, Swope, 
     talked of how he came to support civil rights after moving 
     from an ``all-white Chicago suburb'' to a racially mixed 
     boarding school.
       Next, Spanish teacher Richard Bowdy shared his experience 
     of taking a date to hear Dr. King speak in high school, and 
     made the point that, though Dr. King is generally looked on 
     as a peaceful figure, he was very controversial in his day, 
     ``committed to confrontation as much as he was committed to 
     non-violence.''
       After Bowdy spoke, English teacher Winniefred Anthonio 
     spoke of her experience as an immigrant during the civil 
     rights movement, and History Robert spoke about the theme of 
     who each of us is. Lastly, Ida Tomlin, an administrator at 
     the Cranbrook Institute of Science, related her experience 
     dealing with discrimination as a youth in Meridian, 
     Mississippi.
       The program concluded with Excerpts from ``Song of 
     Myself,'' a film by senior Carlos Navarrete Patino featuring 
     students reading from Whitman's poem, each in their own 
     style. The talks were consistent with King's philosophy. As 
     Tomlin put it, King once said, ``Very few people will rise to 
     genius . . . [so] be the best of whoever you are.''





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