Princeton University's annual remembrance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. not only invoked the "dream," of the lifelong civil rights activist, but tied his message in with the sobering reality of Hurricane Katrina that has upset thousands of lives along the Gulf Coast.
Dillard University President Marvalene Hughes, speaking as one of two keynote presenters Monday at the University's Richardson Auditorium, cited Dr. King's message as the underlying motivation for the rebuilding process of the entire Gulf Coast region. As the president of a predominantly black university in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, she likened the struggle experienced by Dillard faculty and students to the struggle led by Dr. King.
"What happens when we discover that our lives are turned upside down? The challenges can seem overwhelming," she said to a near capacity crowd that also heard a sermon by Charles Adams, the senior pastor of the Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit. Also honored at the ceremony were school-age children who participated in a Martin Luther King Day essay and poster contest whose theme focused on the importance of voting.
Dr. Hughes, who assumed the Dillard presidency only two months prior to Katrina, said her goals in her post were unclear before the hurricane, but upon surveying the devastation of the school—whose campus was largely destroyed, with the exception, she noted, of the campus church—she said she realized her purpose was to help rebuild Dillard.
Before coming to New Orleans, Dr. Hughes was the president of California State University's Stanislaus campus, an environment that she described as a "comfort zone.
"It was fascinating to me that I wanted to give that up, for some reason that was perplexing to me — now I know what I was meant to do," she said, adding that she would have gone regardless of what was in store for the school and the entire region as a whole.
"I think it's why I went there and it's what my charge in life is about at this time."
After evacuating students and faculty as Katrina approached the city, Dr. Hughes said she was awakened by the hurricane and watched the devastation unfold on television. "It never occurred to me that my university would be submerged," she said.
Dillard is currently in the process of finding a way to recover, she said, adding that the spring 2006 semester is the first time any students have been allowed back on campus. Princeton University played host to a handful among Dillard students who spent the fall semester studying at schools around the country.
In September, Princeton and Brown universities forged a partnership with Dillard to support the rebuilding process, including supplying computer equipment and books.
Dr. Hughes said that Dr. King's foresight in dealing with his struggles has been an inspiration to her personally and to her students in Dillard's lasting challenge of dealing with a devastated environment.
"Let's begin to think of more than the 'I Have a Dream' speech," she said, adding that if Dr. King's message is distilled to one significant oratory moment, "we won't understand the message of his dream, the accomplishments of the person, or how the world changed."
In his address, Charles Adams used Dr. King's message to address modern problems, saying people in today's world need to be more than merely "optimistic."
"Easy answers of American optimism are not working solutions to American problems," he said, adding that "problems will not quietly or easily go away."
He outlined the difference between sheer optimism and deep-seeded hope, pointing out that in today's world of easy access and quick fixes, complex problems demand complex answers. He added that Dr. King's struggle could serve as a model for that belief: "I am a prisoner of hope, and I thank God for the life of Martin Luther King, Jr."