The School of Law honored the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today with a reading of the address, “The Other America,” which was delivered at Stanford University on April 14, 1967.
“And I use this subject because there are literally two Americas,” King said. “One America is beautiful for situation. And, in a sense, this America is overflowing with the milk of prosperity and the honey of opportunity. This America is the habitat of millions of people who have food and material necessities for their bodies; and culture and education for their minds; and freedom and human dignity for their spirits. In this America, millions of people experience every day the opportunity of having life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in all of their dimensions. And in this America millions of young people grow up in the sunlight of opportunity.
“But tragically and unfortunately, there is another America. This other America has a daily ugliness about it that constantly transforms the ebulliency of hope into the fatigue of despair. In this America millions of work-starved men walk the streets daily in search for jobs that do not exist. In this America millions of people find themselves living in rat-infested, vermin-filled slums. In this America people are poor by the millions. They find themselves perishing on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.”
The following students read King’s “The Other America” speech during the event:
- Nwando Anwah, 1L
- Kaylun Bryant, 2L
- Atticus Deprospo, 2L
- Christopher Griffin, 2L
- Chenelle Jones, 1L
- Lea Luterstein, 3L
- Victoria Moffa, 2L
- Jeff Rogers, 2L
- Jorge Solis, 3L
- Adrienne Wallace, 1L
The event was sponsored by the Office of Diversity & Inclusion. #UAMLK2019