Attorney General Eric Holder: King's legacy continues to guide us
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The scene outside the Statehouse Monday morning gave the impression of a 1963 protest. Over 1,000 people, none the least bit wearied after marching six blocks from Zion Baptist Church, sprawled out beneath the Confederate flag. Cries of ‘Fired up and ready to go!’ rose through the air as the crowd looked up with contempt at what they regarded as a persistent symbol of racism and hatred flying over their home state’s capitol.
The tension pervaded the remainder of the annual Martin Luther King Day at the Dome Rally, lead by the South Carolina NAACP. Celebrating the memory of the nation’s most honored civil rights leader on what would have been his 83rd birthday, this year’s rally took a special focus on voting rights.
NAACP CEO Benjamin Jealous began the morning with a description of the organization’s past year of struggle against discriminatory legislation, including a North Carolina school board decision to end diversity programming and state bargaining restrictions on workers’ unions. The NAACP also took a strong stance against voter ID laws passed in six states, including South Carolina.
“We’ve had our biggest battles this year, and we will continue here in the Palmetto State,” Jealous said.
Jealous also reiterated complaints regarding Governor Nikki Haley’s decision to continue flying the Confederate flag above the Statehouse.
“Governor Haley knows why that flag was hoisted up over a decade ago, and she knows why it needs to come down today,” he said to the crowd, who roared in agreement.
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the rally’s keynote speaker, followed Jealous’s remarks with an accolade of the Obama administration’s success in blocking the SC voter ID requirement.
“Justice has never been stronger in preventing discrimination in our election system,” Holder said. “But the Justice Department can’t do this alone. Citizens must support policies that aim to modernize the voting system and punish fraudulent voting practices.”
It was a lesson that resonated with fourth-year mathematics student Chavonna Starlings, one in a handful of student MLK-day volunteers who unexpectedly found themselves passing out “Young People’s Bill of Rights” fliers on behalf of the New Morning Foundation at the rally.
“King fought for the rights of all people, and we’re making sure people know about the rights they have,” Starlings said. “This is a good way to help them understand the law, and thereby understand what they believe in and what they stand for.”
For Starlings and more than 400 other USC students, spread out among 21 sites for this year’s MLK Day of Service, the commemoration of King’s legacy went beyond passionate rhetoric on legal rights. University President Harris Pastides went straight from the Day at the Dome rally to the Columbia Winter Shelter for the homeless, where he joined Carolina Productions volunteers in preparing dinner for the shelter’s 240 guests.
“We have the opportunity to be philosophical and contemplative, but I think Martin Luther King was more about getting things done than talking about getting things done,” Pastides said. “I like that our students today are getting out there and helping others.”
This year, Community Service Programming has extended MLK day service opportunities to Jan. 21 and 22 in order to accommodate more non-profit organizations, from Lyon Street Community Association to the Robert Mills House historical association. Additional events throughout the week, including a blood drive, a documentary presentation on the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina and a discussion on local poverty have also been planned to add an extra educational component to MLK day, according to Community Service Program Coordinator Teresa Harrison. She feels it is a lesson of the “call to action” left by King’s legacy, not only through protests and demonstrations, but through humble compassion for others.
“MLK Day is a reminder to students of what was accomplished during the Civil Rights movement when people worked for a common cause,” Harrison wrote in an email response. “It is a reminder that we can accomplish great things by working together to bring about positive changes within our community.”