UCLA professors reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
Clockwise from top left: UCLA professors Brenda Steveson, Marcus Hunter, Lorrie Frasure-Yokley, Tyrone Howard, Kelly Lytle Hernández and Darnell Hunt.
April 4 marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. His final manuscript, titled “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” written in late 1967, is a treatise on the slain civil rights leader’s vision of the ongoing struggle for economic equality, educational equity and freedom for all Americans regardless of race.
It is a theme that still resonates strongly. We asked some of our leading African-American faculty to ponder this same question and the role that UCLA as an institution might play in advancing the spirit, hopefulness and boundless effort that King continues to inspire.
As UCLA looks to its 100th anniversary as an institution in 2019 and celebrates the 50th anniversary of the founding of our Institute of American Cultures, which was formed in direct response to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, we will continue to pose this question to members of our community — pondering where we go from here.
Kelly Lytle Hernández, director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies
Darnell Hunt, dean of the division of social sciences in the UCLA College
Brenda Stevenson, Nickoll Family Endowed Chair in History
Marcus Hunter, chair of African American studies
Lorrie Frasure-Yokley, associate professor of political science
Tyrone Howard, director of the Black Male Institute at UCLA
Originally posted in UCLA Newsroom: Source
