Reilly Pulliam
Staff Writer/MC301
“No turning back” was the theme for the 52nd anual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Convocation on Jan. 17 in the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium. After a powerful rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing”, an inspiring message of hope and perservence was delivered to the audience.
Naysa Lynch, 2019-2020 Miss Jackson State University, believes that students should recognize the impact of Martin Luther King, Jr. on the African-American community and follow in his footsteps of fighting for what you believe in.
“Dr. Martin Luther King gave black people a voice that they were afraid to use. He stood up for his community and fought for the rights of African-Americans that should have never been taken away in the first place. When I look at how big of an impact he had on our people, it’s truly inspiring,” Lynch said.
She added: “Dr. King accomplished so much and we still have so far to go. I hope we continue to take a stand for our people and follow in the footsteps of those who started this civil rights journey for us.”
Attorney Constance Slaughter- Harvey gave the keynote address. Slaughter- Harvey is a 2020 For My People Award Recipient. She is also the founder and president of Legacy Education and Community Empowerment Foundation, Inc. and was the first African-American female to receive a law degree from the University of Mississippi. She has filed more than 200 legal actions, one of them being the lawsuit against the State of Mississippi and City of Jackson for the 1970 wrongful deaths of JSU student James Green and Jim Hill High School student Phillip Gibbs.
She started her speech by describing the difficulty of talking about the traumatic night in 1970.
“I thank Dr. Luckett for your invitation to participate in this celebration which is very somber, serious, sad, and painful for me and [I thank] President Bynum and the Jackson State family and those of you who were present on the night of May 14th and the early morning of May 15th,” said Slaughter- Harvey. “And especially students who were injured, I want to thank you for your presence. This is one of the most difficult times of my life in that I have been forced to relive an era in Mississippi history that makes me sad, mad, angry, hurt, and disappointed.”
Slaughter-Harvey, the Scott County Bar president and Scott County Youth prosecutor, spoke to the audience on the injustice of the wrongful death lawsuits for James Green and Phillip Gibbs and how the lives of Jackson State students were changed forever.
“Let us today remember James Earl Green and Phillip Gibbs and the Jackson State students who were injured and hospitalized and whose lives and dreams were shattered because of the official fatal response to student protest. They kept faith despite the failures of the executive, judicial, and legislative systems to right intentional wrongs. As we pay tribute and honor Phillip and James Earl, these young men were victims of excessive reaction by white law enforcement officers,” Slaughter-Harvey said.
Slaughter- Harvey closed her speech by acknowledging how far the justice system has come.
“I’m thankful now, 50 years later, that we have real judges who know what fairness is and who are extremely competent and fair minded. I’m reminded of Judge Nixon but I’m also reminded of Judge Carlton Reeves who is a product of Jackson State,” she said. “I’m reminded of Tomie Green who is a product of Tougaloo. I’m reminded of United States Court of Appeals Judge James Graves who is a product of Millsaps. I’m reminded of State Supreme Court Judge Leslie King, Appeals Court Judges Latrice Westbrook and Deborah McDonald. Yes, 50 years while the pain remains.”
Aysia Williams, a senior political science major from Atlanta, Ga., believes students should take the convocation seriously and recognize its importance.
“I think students should attend convocation because it’s important for us to acknowledge how far we’ve come in the Civil Rights Movement and pay homage to the people who fought for all the freedoms we have today,” said Williams.
For David Hurst, a sophomore psychology major from Zachary, La., it was inspiring to hear about the Gibbs-Green tragedy firsthand.
“I’ve heard a lot about the deaths of Phillip Gibbs and James Earl Green but the speaker really went into detail and made me feel like I was reliving it with her and it helped me gain a better understanding of what happened. I have nothing but respect for the students that were here at that time and I couldn’t even imagine what it must have been like to live through that tragedy,” said Hurst.
Jordan Jefferson, 2019-2020 Student Government Association President, encourages students to reflect after attending the program.
“I hope that students are able to reflect on the impact of Martin Luther King and how much he’s done for the black community. I hope that as we celebrate his life, everyone feels empowered to stand up for what they believe in,” said Jefferson.
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