On its sixth anniversary, the Dallas Institute's MLK, Jr. Symposium considered one of the most crucial but often neglected aspects of the American Civil Rights Movement: the law. Rev. King insisted from the beginning that the fundamental challenge of the movement was to make a necessary distinction--between just and unjust laws. In his words, "A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law." This distinction was repeatedly tested in the dangerous struggles of the 1950's and 60's, when activists willingly went to jail in defiance of segregation's unjust laws. But who worked behind the scenes to free them? Who fought the legal battles while protestors filled the streets--and the jails? The story of resisting Jim Crow while fighting to institute just laws once and for all is rich, many-layered, and compelling.
Left: Mr. Fred Gray, Middle: MLK Founders: Mr. Albert Black, Mrs. Gwyneith Black, Mr. Fred Gray, Mr. John Castle
Right: Mr. Jeffrey Toobin
The 5th annual Symposium on January 18, 2010, focused on one of the most pressing and relevant questions of our day: what does the election of President Barack Obama signify in terms of Rev. King's lifelong struggle to realize equality for all people in America? In his 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech before the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King said, "when the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir." We examined the significance and implication of President Obama's election--what it means for all Americans in terms of both promise and obligation.
The fourth annual Symposium in 2009 addressed what many regard as the darkest chapter of the Civil Rights struggle: Birmingham, Alabama, 1963. There and then, according to Diane McWhorter, occurred our "national turning point." During this moving presentation, Ms. McWhorter and an "old lion" from the Civil Rights era--Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker--discussed Birmingham 1963: the testing of King's non-violent strategy, the legacy of his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," and much more.