The University of Oregon recently decided that the Martin Luther King Jr. quote in the EMU would return after construction. There was a controversy on campus, which may have been blown a little out of proportion by media outlets across the country, over whether to take down a quote from one of the greatest leaders in American history and from perhaps the most iconic speech ever given.
The quote reads, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream…”
The debate began when a student questioned whether the quote “represents us today.” With the gender identity and transgender rights movement in full swing, one student argued that since diversity includes more than just race, maybe we should find a quote that better represents the open and inclusive environment that we have, and are continuing to pursue, at the UO.
It turns out that the issue may have been much less of a debate than previously expected. There was only a single student who made a comment questioning whether the quote is the best fit for the university before the EMU Board decided to keep the quote.
Since the story has made so much headway, we might as well have a conversation considering the ramifications of political correctness taken to the extreme. It is important to take the time to understand the importance of the MLK quote.
We must not forget the context of this quote. When King gave the “I have a dream” speech to civil rights activists in Washington D.C., he was clearly directing his speech towards raising awareness and inspiring people to stand up to the African-American civil rights issues that were plaguing the country at the time. Although there is an intersectionality of race and gender, one person cannot stand up to everything that is wrong with the world at one time.
Take, for instance, some of the most influential humanitarians of all time. Mahatma Gandhi freed India from British rule, Oskar Schindler saved the lives of 1,200 Jewish people during the Holocaust, while MLK led the African-American civil rights movement. Each of these great men followed plans of action for specific, clear-cut goals.
It would be foolish to believe that a single person can stand up for justice for all people. Change generally happens slowly, if at all.
Words don’t really mean much unless we understand the context in which they are spoken. While the King quote does not explicitly include anything regarding gender inclusiveness, the context and meaning behind these words are powerful enough to explain why the UO has chosen this quote to be representative of the school’s values since 1985.
Freshman pre-business major Stephen Fleischman believes the quote is still relevant for many reasons.
“It can be related to today’s times where homosexuality and personal identity activists are struggling with similar forms of discrimination that African-Americans were facing in the ’60s,” Fleischman said.
Don’t get me wrong, the quest to be as diverse and accepting of a university as possible is a noble one indeed, but this has been taken too far in some circumstances. The movement for political correctness seems to be speeding forward with blinders that have prevented some people from seeing how the intent behind King’s words is more important than the literal interpretation.
We need to take a step back and put ourselves in King’s shoes, understand where he was coming from and celebrate his achievements instead of picking something trivial to criticize. I’m glad that the UO was able to quickly stomp out the allegations that we had gone overboard with the diversity and inclusiveness movement.
Different groups who feel oppressed or underrepresented on campus should be working together to help out with each other’s issues as much as possible. This controversy can serve as a cautionary tale of how political correctness can be divisive and how misleading media coverage can cause a negative impact on a school’s image.