Waves of Change An Interactive Exhibit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Monmouth University “The Question of the Future of Integration” [0:05] Monmouth College became a university on March 24, 1995, when it received its charter from the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education.[0:24] Reverend Bernard Lee was an activist and a close aide to King.[0:29] Red Bank Airport, with a half-mile landing strip, operated from the 1920s to the 1970s.[1:40] William G. Van Note presided over Monmouth College from 1962 to 1971. “A New Negro Came into Being” [0:30] Widely cited as the first documented arrival of Africans in colonial America. More recently, historians have determined that enslaved Africans were part of the Spanish expedition to what is now Florida.[0:46] The 102 passengers and 30-odd crew members of the Mayflower landed in present-day Cape Cod in November, 1620.[1:10] In the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision, the Supreme Court ruled that descendants of slaves are not American citizens.[2:42] Noah’s curse in Genesis 9 of the Old Testament was used by some to justify slavery by citing the original sins of Noah’s son Ham.[2:46] From Ephesians 6:5, “Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and sincerity of heart, just as you would show to Christ.”[5:27] Quoted from a poem The Negro’s Complaint, written by William Cowper in 1788.[5:39] Quoted from a hymn by Isaac Watts, an English theologian and writer. “Extending the Frontiers of Democracy and Civil Rights” [1:04] Homer Plessy, a man with one African-American grandparent, challenged Louisiana’s Separate Car Act by sitting in a “whites only” train car. The Supreme Court ruled in 1896 that the “separate but equal” doctrine was permissible.[1:48] The Supreme Court decision in the case of Brown v. Board of Education declared that the segregation of schools is unconstitutional.[2:37] The Montgomery bus boycott began on Dec. 5, 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a city bus and ended on Dec. 20, 1956, following the Browder v. Gayle ruling that declared segregated buses are unconstitutional.l.[2:52] The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In 1965, the Voting Rights Act guaranteed African-Americans the right to vote under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. In 2013, key portions of the Voting Rights Act were repealed leading to increased voter disenfranchisement. [3:33] References the biblical story of Moses freeing the slaves of Egypt.[3:44] Compares the civil rights movement to the great Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to the land of Canaan that their God had promised them. “We Are Far from the Promised Land” [2:34] Churches usually served as the centers of black communities, and their bombings and burnings were often ignored or occasionally assisted by local law enforcement.[2:55] A 1955 Time magazine article reviewed the desegregation efforts of each state. Mississippi received an ‘F’ rating.[3:20] Racist violence against black people, even children, is a longstanding part of American culture. On Sept. 12, 1966, the Grenada schools opened and 250 black students attempted to integrate. They were attacked by a large white mob for several days until a federal judge ordered protection for the students on Sept. 16. “The Real Potential Never Comes into Actuality” [1:52] In order to avoid integration, many white families moved to suburban areas with richer, whiter schools or sent their children to segregation academies. De facto segregation in the North, including New Jersey, originated with extended enslavement from 1776 to 1804. It continues to present day.[2:25] Poor education historically leads to lower employment levels and income, producing a cycle of poverty. “Perishing on a Lonely Island of Poverty” [0:49] In 1966, the black unemployment rate was more than double the white unemployment rate, at 7.3 and 3.4, respectively. Over 50 years later in 2018, the black unemployment rate was still nearly double the white unemployment rate, at 6.5 and 3.5, respectively.[1:30] The Great Depression led to Hubert T. Parson’s financial bankruptcy, forcing him to sell the estate of Shadow Lawn at auction in 1938. It was sold to the borough of West Long Branch for $100 and his mansion now serves as the Great Hall at Shadow Lawn. “The Language of the Unheard” [1:15] Race-related riots in 1966 alone included the Hough riots in Cleveland, the Hunters Point uprising in San Francisco, and both the Division Street riots and the Marquette Park rallies in Chicago. The following year, race riots broke out in Newark, New Jersey. In 1970, Asbury Park, Red Bank, and Freehold also experienced riots.[1:27] “Molotov cocktails”: A glass bottle filled with a flammable liquid and stopped with a burning alcohol-soaked rag. These devices were often used to attack law enforcement and set fire to buildings and vehicles during riots. “A Massive Action Program” [2:14] The war cost the U.S. 10 times more than it paid in support for all levels of education and 50 times more than was spent for housing and community development during that same period.[2:36] Vietnam than we are about winning the war against poverty here at home.” College campuses across the nation were divided on the issue of the Vietnam War. Monmouth students protested several times and participated in the nationwide Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam on Oct. 15, 1969. “The Myth of Time” [2:58] "Edmund Burke": Irish author, philosopher, and political theorist (1729-1797).[4:06] Governor Lester Maddox served from 1967 to 1971. He had previously defied the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by refusing to serve three black Georgia Tech students at his restaurant and, along with customers and employees, threatened them with axe handles. “The Law Cannot Change the Heart, But It Can Restrain the Heartless” [1:35] The Civil Rights Act of 1966 would have barred racial discrimination in the sale and rental of housing.[1:56] A sit-in protest had begun at Monmouth College the night before King’s visit. Protesters claimed that Monmouth’s administration had failed to investigate allegations of racial discrimination in college-approved off-campus housing. “An Amalgam of Black and White” [0:00] “Black power” was popularized as a racial and political slogan by leaders of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. “White power” was popularized by the American Nazi Party founder, George Lincoln Rockwell, in response to the black power movement.[1:36] English poet (1572-1631). Quoted from “Meditation XVII” from Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. “A Kind of Divine Discontent” [1:56] Sputnik 1 and Sputnik 2 were the first and second artificial Earth satellites, respectively. Both were launched by the USSR in 1957, and they are often viewed as the starting point of space exploration. The name Gemini was given to 12 different U.S. spacecrafts launched between 1964 and 1966.[2:04] During the Cold War (1947-1991) there was a constant threat of nuclear war. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 is an example of the kind of imminent threat to humanity that nuclear warheads posed.[2:48] References the first part of Dante Alighieri’s epic poem, Divine Comedy, Inferno.[3:49] President Woodrow Wilson spent the summer of 1916 at the original Shadow Lawn mansion. It burned down in 1927, and the current building, now the Great Hall at Shadow Lawn, was constructed in 1929.[3:59] Founded in 1920, the League of Nations was the first international organization whose primary goal was to maintain world peace. “The Ultimate Goal of America” [0:23] A gospel song, that is believed to have origins in tobacco plantations and was sung by slaves. The song was covered by many popular artists and became an important anthem during civil rights protests.[3:09] A rallying cry of the civil rights movement, that is quoted from an old Negro spiritual. King used this phrase several times, most notably in his “I Have a Dream” speech.