In commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, UNMC Today will feature a series of photos and quotations from the civil rights leader. In today’s excerpt, King shares his views on leadership.
UNMC/NHS will commemorate Martin Luther King Jr. Monday with a noon presentation by Diane Ariza, Ph.D., assistant dean of multicultural affairs at Albion College in Albion, Mich., and former director of multicultural affairs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Free pizza and soda will be available for the first 300 guests at the Storz Pavilion. A live videotape presentation of Dr. Ariza’s presentation will be available for overflow audience members at the Wittson Hall Amphitheater. A sign language interpreter will be present to translate for audience members who are deaf or hearing impaired.
 |
Dr. King with Rosa Parks. |
“There is nothing to be afraid of if you believe and know that the cause for which you stand is right. Courage breeds self-affirmation. It faces fear and thereby masters it. A refusal to be stopped, the courage to be, the determination to go on in spite of, is the hallmark of great movements. Do not be intimidated. Do not be harassed. Do not be silent. Be heard. Whenever you see injustice, take a stand against it. Remember that the road ahead will not always be smooth. There will be rocky places of frustration and meandering points of bewilderment. There will be inevitable setbacks here and there. No leader can be great, or even fit for office, if he attempts to accommodate to injustice to maintain his political balance. A firm sense of self-esteem is the most powerful weapon against slander and vilification.”
Excerpt from Martin Luther King, Jr. on Leadership: Inspiration and Wisdom for Challenging Times, Donald T. Phillips (Warner Books, 1999).
Photo from The Life and Death of Martin Luther King Jr., by James Haskins, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., 1977.