“Our goal is to create a beloved community, and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
This quote from King’s essay “Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom,” provides the requirements for achieving the goals of his oft-quoted “I Have a Dream” speech. It was also the topic of NASA’s Langley Research Center’s celebration of King’s life, “Keeping the Dream Alive.” The Jan. 11 event featured keynote speaker and Hampton University President Lt. Gen. (ret.) Darrell K. Williams and was sponsored by the center’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Black Employee Strategy Team, and Office of STEM Engagement.
Williams focused on the work necessary to achieve King’s vision of the beloved community, a community where everyone is cared for, absent of poverty, hunger and hate.
King, he said, is “One of the most celebrated and influential people in history, but if he were here with us today, he’d also say this is a call to service.”
He said King’s teachings are as relevant today as they were during his life. He also spoke about today’s efforts to fight systemic racism and the tragedy of gun violence.
“No one abhors war more than the people who fight them. No one hates police violence more than the good police we need to keep us safe, and no one sheds more tears than first responders who are the first to arrive at mass shootings,” Williams said.
Williams, who retired from the Army after 37 years of service, said that he personally experienced racism at times during his career, and that the slow march toward equality can be frustrating.
“We all remain justifiably impatient about the cases of racism and mistreatment within the criminal justice system and in our society. Yet at the end of the day and in spite of these challenges, I still believe that America is worth fighting for, and if Dr. King were here today, he’d be fighting too,” Williams said. “We must continue to forcefully press our leaders and government to do more and be better, and at the same time appreciate the specialness of the U.S. of A. And we must do this in a nonviolent, peaceful way.”
Williams challenged everyone in attendance to cultivate leadership qualities such as honesty and integrity. To do the right thing even when no one is looking and when the right thing is harder than the easy thing.
Ultimately, he asked everyone to abide by a teaching many of us first heard as small children.
“Observe the Golden Rule. Treat everyone as you’d have them treat you. Treat each and every person with respect, without regard for race, sexual orientation, or socio-economic status.”
As president of Hampton University, Williams understands the importance of HBCUs in the development of young minds. Much like the teachings of King, he said HBCUs are as relevant now as they’ve ever been.
“Most HBCUs were stood up right after the civil war as a byproduct of the movement to help African Americans who had no skills other than those they had from slavery. Today, only three percent of Black college graduates come from HBCUs, but they are a key percentage.”
Williams noted that 80 percent of black judges, 50 percent of black doctors, and 50 percent of black judges are HBCU graduates. He applauded the joint research endeavors and other partnerships between Hampton University and Langley.
“It’s reducing the mystery of what happens behind the NASA gates,” he said. “My sense if you will soon see many more HU graduates working at NASA.”
And this, after all, is an important step that goes a long way toward keeping King’s dream alive – now and in the future.
