“Don’t get mad, get smart” is a phrase that former U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young’s father taught him. Young spoke about this phrase and its relevance as the keynote speaker during MU’s celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on Jan. 26, as well as at a media briefing the day before.
“[My father] said [that] when you get angry, the blood rushes from your head, your brain stops working and you will inevitably do something stupid,” Young said at the media brief. “I think that’s an even more relevant guidance today than it was 80 years ago when he gave it to me.”
That idea underpins Young’s feelings on the power of the human spirit. During his address on Jan. 26, Young brought up Jonathan Butler, who demanded the removal of Tim Wolfe, then-University of Missouri system president, and started a hunger strike at MU in 2015.
“He brought that school to its knees without ever raising a fuss,” Young said. “He simply used the power of his spirit. It’s the only place in the world that one human spirit has beaten the football team by himself. You all have had a demonstration of the power of a single human spirit. I’ve been fortunate enough to have met a spirit like that in Martin Luther King.”
The theme of this year’s MLK celebration was “Infinite Hope: The Power and Possibilities of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Vision.”
Young, former executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, former mayor of Atlanta, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and former congressman, said he was born with hope.
“I think we’re all born with that,” Young said at the media brief. “We exist for what we shall become.”
The MLK Day Celebration Committee based the theme of the event off of one of Dr. King’s quotes: “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.”
“The theme seeks to capture the ongoing evolution of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of equality and non-violence and its implications for today’s time when people are seeking hope and freedom — from pandemics, racial unrest, economic instability,” MU Spokesperson Liz McCune said in an email.
During the event, the Worley Street Roundtable, a Columbia organization that helps support the education of children in the community, received the University of Missouri Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award. According to MU’s webpage for the celebration, the award is given to a Boone County resident or group that has made “significant tangible contributions in the areas of race relations, social justice and human rights.” The award was established in 2007.
“We received several nominations for the award, and this year’s winner was selected by majority vote of the committee,” McCune said.
The event was held via a YouTube livestream on Jan. 26. However, the recording of the event can still be accessed on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5oaKt9wHII&list=WL&index=1&t=3s.
_Edited by Sophie Chappell | schappell@themaneater.com _
