MLK Day: Celebration focuses on education's role in bring equality

Carllos Lassiter speaks at Austin College during the college's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.
Carllos Lassiter speaks at Austin College during the college's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Among all aspects of life, a sign of progress is improvement in access to education. The idea that individuals can rise above their stations in life and move on great accomplishments later in life through education has been a reoccurring theme since the Civil Rights Movement and in times prior.

Access to education was a focus of this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations at Austin College as community members spoke of the role of knowledge in creating a more just society and the constant struggle for equality.

"I think education is important because it is the equalizer," Carllos Lassiter, AC vice president for student affairs and chief inclusion and diversity officer, said.

Since 1986, the third Monday of January has been a federal holiday in honor of his accomplishments and Martin Luther King Jr's role in the fight for civil rights across America. This year marks the 18th year that the college has held the event on the day honoring the legendary civil rights leader.

Student speaker sophomore Clemon White focused primarily on a local civil rights leader who set the stage for generations of Black Americans to have the same opportunities as their white contemporaries.

William J. Durham gained recognition throughout his lengthy career fighting for civil rights, including in cases before the Supreme Court.

Durham started his career in law in Sherman by studying under a White attorney in town. Durham went on to start his own legal practice in Sherman, however, his offices were one of the buildings that were destroyed in the Sherman Riot of 1930 following the lynching of George Hughes.

More: Learning from the past: Community commemorates 91st anniversary of George Hughes lynching

"I have the opportunity to stand before you and speak before you today because of individuals like William J. Durham," White said.

Clemon White speaks at Austin College during the college's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.
Clemon White speaks at Austin College during the college's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations.

One of Durham's longest lasting impacts came in 1950 when he argued before the Supreme Court in the case of Sweatt v. Painter. This case struck a blow in the separate but equal policy of the time and led to the integration of the law school at the University of Texas.

This would set the stage for the landmark decision four years later in Brown v. Board of Education that struck down racially-segregated schools across the country.

"Despite living in an era where obtaining a high-quality education was very difficult for African Americans — facing immense racism and having his law offices destroyed by an act of racial violence — Durham went on to continue to fight for racial equality and would work on some of the most groundbreaking cases in supreme court history," White said.

The role of education and equal access to it was also a focus of King during his fight for civil rights. In one of his early writings while at college, King wrote that education helps create and define one's character for the rest of their life.

"With education, Dr. King shined a light on injustices, changed hearts and minds and inspired generations," White said.

For his part, Lassiter said he was a product of efforts by King, Durham and countless other civil rights leaders. From his origins in a small southern community with dirt roads, Lassiter was able to elevate himself to the point where he can serve as the vice president of a liberal arts college.

Lassiter focused on King's time at Moorehouse College and how the experience affected and shaped King into the person he would become later in life. Like Lassiter, King also grew up in the south, but gained a greater scope and understanding through his study in the more integrated north.

Early in his college studies, in his mid-teens, King proved to be an average student who had more interest in the college experience than the academics and studies. This changed over time and led King to shift from asperations of being a doctor or lawyer and instead follow his father into the ministry.

Lassiter said the efforts of King have led to progress throughout our society in the decades that have followed his fights. However, these is still work to be done with regard to America achieving King's goal of becoming a just society. This continued struggle is still being fought today by the next generation who Lassiter hopes will push forward in achieving that dream.

"We saw the youth a couple summers ago in the streets demanding social responsibility as it relates to our criminal justice system," Lassiter said.

More: Texoma students, leaders look back at King's dream

This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: MLK Day: Celebration focuses on education's role in bring equality