Johnson: King fought for equality, not symbolism
Sterling Johnson said the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for equality for all people.
"He (King) wanted equality, not symbolism," the political science professor said. "Affirmative action is symbolism."
Johnson compared affirmative action as a remedy for increasing equality to using a Band-Aid to treat cancer. He said King wanted total reconstruction of society, with equality in not just race, but in every aspect of an individual.
Topinabee sophomore Dennis Lennox II said King was a great American, bringing civil rights to everyone.
"I think if Martin Luther King Jr. was a Michigan resident, he would have voted yes on Proposal 2," he said.
Johnson disagreed, saying that racial preferences always have existed unofficially, but that they have favored whites.
Proposal 2, which Michigan voters approved in the November elections, banned affirmative action in public institutions.
Lennox said King did not want racial preferences.
"His legacy, looking back, we're starting to accomplish what he's worked on," Lennox said.
Michael Powell, affirmative action officer and interim vice president for institutional diversity, said the recent voter-approved ban counters King's dream.
Powell said Proposal 2 will make increasing diversity on campus more difficult.
Despite the different interpretations, some students agreed King's vision has not yet been fulfilled.
"He said he had a dream, but we're not really there yet," said Tiffany Jones, Student Government Association Vice President and Lansing junior. "(It's a) wonderful vision, but we're not there yet."
Detroit junior Jerell Erves agreed.
"In any dream and vision there will be setbacks," Erves said.
ddefever@cm-life.com
