MLK Day in Lansing: Speakers recognize civil rights achievements and the work still left
LANSING — The work of heralded civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is not over, Andrew Aydin told a crowd at the Lansing Center on Monday.
Aydin, aide to U.S. Rep. John Lewis, recited five things activists demanded during the 1963 March on Washington.
The first two, access to public accommodations and the right to vote, were accomplished with the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act.
The last three, fair housing, equal and quality education and a livable minimum wage, still escape some Americans, he said, burdening them with debt and disconnecting them from communities.
"When you take those [three] things together you create a trap, a poverty trap," Aydin said. "Dr. King knew that. Dr. King put it down on paper. That's what he marched on Washington for, that's what he gave his life for."
Aydin was among the speakers who addressed a crowd of 1,800 gathered for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commission of Mid-Michigan’s annual Day of Celebration event on the King holiday.
Aydin spoke on behalf Lewis, who was scheduled as keynote speaker. Lewis is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer and was unable to travel to Lansing for the event.
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Aydin read a letter Lewis wrote attendees to thank them for their work and encourage them to continue:
"By speaking up and speaking out about the work of Dr. King, you are helping to create the beloved community here in America," Aydin read from Lewis' letter. "There is much work to be done. We have come a great distance, made incredible progress, but we're not there yet."
Monday's event was the 35th annual Day of Celebration. As is tradition, an inspirational King quote was the celebration's theme — 'There comes a time when silence is betrayal.'
Speakers, including local religious leaders, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor and East Lansing Mayor Ruth Beier, U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, called on attendees to continue King's work toward equality.
Gilchrist, Michigan’s first black Lieutenant Governor, used an anecdote about segregated businesses to challenge the crowd to open their homes, places of worship, businesses, schools and communities to people who have been unwelcome.
Gilchrist has an office in the George W. Romney Building in downtown Lansing, formerly the Olds Hotel. According to the Green Book, an early 20th century guide for African American travelers, the Olds Hotel did not accept African Americans, Gilchrist said.
"What are you doing to make sure that somebody else [is welcome]? That they can go to places that not only they have never gone before, but that no one like them has ever gone before?" he asked the crowd.
Like Gilchrist, Aydin encouraged the crowd to consider the impact their work can have on young people.
Aydin, a Turkish-American from Atlanta, co-authored a three-volume graphic novel, "March," with Lewis about Lewis' experience in the civil rights movement. He also serves as Lewis' digital director and policy advisor.
Day of Celebration attendees each received a copy of the first volume. Michigan State University was the first school to use it as a freshman reading text, Aydin said.
Their graphic novel is modeled after a 16-page comic book, "Martin Luther King and the Montgomery story," published in 1957, that helped spread civil rights leaders' message of nonviolence.
Aydin and Lewis had a similar goal with "March" – use a graphic novel to teach history to a new generation.
"Imagine if we could instill a social consciousness in every 9-year-old in America," Aydin said.
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Contact Carol Thompson at (517) 377-1018 or ckthompson@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @thompsoncarolk.