Vercye Thompson, an Albuquerque community member, said Friday at the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Service in the Alumni Chapel that America is still plagued by racism, unwilling to act because people's situations are "comfortable."
Thompson said that though countless people lost their lives in the fight for King's dream -- a dream of equality, where people would be judged on character and not the color of their skin -- she is baffled why people are willing to let racism go by simply because things are better than they were 30 years ago.
"Don't get me wrong," she said. "My situation is not worse."
Thompson added, though, that if slaves tolerated being enslaved, then "we all might be slaves today." She cautioned the audience that simple desegregation of schools and other public venues is not enough.
Thompson moderated the service, which is an annual event sponsored by UNM's African American Studies. The service included speakers from around the community and University, as well as songs and prayers to remember King's struggle in the fight for civil rights. The celebration came four days after King's birthday, celebrated throughout the nation on Jan. 20.
Ron Hinson, president of the Charlie Morrissey Scholarship Committee and speaker at the service, also pointed out problems addressed by King that are still present in today's society -- specifically diversity.
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Hinson said that diversity has been skewed in this country.
"The way it's presented in America is it is a program, some kind of scheme to help people get along," he said.
Hinson added that diversity cannot be legislated or mandated, it has to come from people's hearts and minds.
"Without spiritual commitment to our brothers, there can be no real diversity," he said. "I truly believe that we must change our hearts and minds before Rev. King truly realizes his dream."
Eliseo Torres, the vice president for student affairs, recalled when he saw King stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and give his "I have a dream" speech. He emphasized that King not only helped blacks, but others as well.
"He was a gentleman who changed the lives of many minorities, including my own life," Torres said.
According to the King Center's Web site, an organization established the year King was assassinated to further the work of the slain civil rights leader, the "movements and marches [King] led brought significant changes in the fabric of American life through his courage and selfless devotion. This devotion gave direction to 13 years of civil rights activities."
King was killed by James Earl Ray in a Memphis, Tenn., hotel April 4, 1968 while helping lead sanitation workers in a protest against low wages and intolerable working conditions, the Web site stated.
