To Clayborne Carson, Martin Luther King Jr. was more than just a civil rights leader. He became a symbol of hope for people nationwide.
Carson, a Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Professor at Morehouse College and a history professor at Stanford University, spoke to about 100 people Thursday at Kellogg Center as part of the MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine’s 10th annual lecture series during Black History Month.
Carson is the second of three speakers to present in the series, which is called Slavery to Freedom: An American Odyssey.
“Most Americans, perhaps because we are close to him, see him as a black civil rights leader,” Carson said. “We tend to see particular black leaders primarily in their racial roles. … I don’t think he was a civil rights leader or else he would have quit after 1965. But him being a civil rights leader doesn’t explain why he was in Memphis in 1968.”
Pat Grauer, director of public relations in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, sat on the committee that asked Carson to speak at MSU. Grauer said Carson’s knowledge about King and the civil rights movement impressed committee members.
“We’ve gotten people as close to the movement as possible,” Grauer said. “We have been inviting people that are really original sources. They’re now getting into their 70s and their 80s, and we wanted to give people the chance to appreciate them while they were still around.”
William Anderson, professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, called Carson “probably the foremost author of the history of the civil rights union and Martin Luther King history today.”
As a 19-year-old, Carson became interested in the civil rights movement and attended the March on Washington where he heard King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
In 1985, Carson received a phone call from Coretta Scott King asking him to become the director of the King Papers Project, which works to publish important speeches, sermons and correspondence related to King’s life.
Carson has published 17 books, written a play about King that was produced at the National Theatre Company of China and is spending the weekend in the Middle East talking to Palestinians who have been inspired by King’s example.
“King … (represents) a tradition of how do oppressed people liberate themselves,” Carson said. “They offer some insights that have been very useful and inspiring to people around the world.”
Psychology freshman Damonika Canada said she thought Carson’s presentation was interesting and informative.
“He wanted to do more. That spoke to me. You only live once,” she said.
The final program in the lecture series will take place at 5 p.m. next Thursday in the Kellogg Center.
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