King’s message inspires California University students
CALIFORNIA – More than 1,000 people of all races and ages listened and were motivated as Coretta Scott King, the widow of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., dared them to dream and to rise up “from the shadows” and “work for peace, dignity and human rights for all people.” Her message at California University of Pennsylvania’s Steele Auditorium was clear and had an immediate impact on several of those who came to see the woman who was co-worker, partner and wife to the leader of America’s civil rights movement.
“She inspired me to be more aware of the differences of others and to stress to children that although we are different, we have a lot of the same qualities,” said Heather Simpson, a senior studying to be a school teacher at Cal U.
Many of the young people in the audience, which included elementary to college-age students, said they were inspired by King’s words.
“She really made me think about things like this generation really needs to do more to help the future,” said Cal U junior Lakesha Dent.
Some students said that King’s message was greatly needed.
“This is something that the community definitely needed to hear, especially with the civil rights issues going on here right now,” said Penn State Fayette senior Toni Nicklo. “We all need to rise up and take a stand against violence and realize what’s going on with our kids and how we are letting or kids slip away before our eyes.”
“This is something the community needed to hear for a long time. The minority situation here doesn’t get a lot of attention, which I think it needs, ” said Ryan Hepler, a Cal U junior.
A couple hundred elementary, middle school and high school students also attended the event. They stood along the auditorium walls as King spoke.
Butch Jackson, project liaison for Young Inspirations, an after-school program that brought about 75 students from the Uniontown area to the event, said King was reaching out to children, but her words inspired him as well.
“She was very inspiring, motivational. It had an impact on me. She’s reaching out to us so we can empower each other and the youth, who are our future,” Jackson said.
Cyndie King, Young Inspirations’ site coordinator at Ben Franklin School, said King’s message was geared to today’s youth, but it’s up to the adults to move the youth along in the right direction: “She was really talking about the kids, stressing them to get involved, but the only way they can do that is if we help move them along.”
Cyndie King said the students hoped to ask King questions but instead will write letters to her.
Some people in the audience simply were impressed with seeing King, a historic figure directly involved with the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
Angie Michaux, assistant principal at Connellsville Area Junior High East, said the strength King shows is an inspiration in itself.
“I was impressed enough to remember her words for the rest of my life. That is why I came and I brought my children, to hear her speak in first person about her husband and how she valued his words, and she really wants people to know that she was a part of the movement. …The most powerful message is to remember to be inclusive. Culture, unification, diversity, that was the center of her message,” Michaux said.