Cheryl Brown Henderson invited as keynote speaker for Martin Luther King Jr. week
Keynote speaker Cheryl Brown Henderson speaks with members of the CMU NAACP chapter on Jan. 23 in the School of Music building.
Central Michigan University Multicultural Academic Student Services presented Cheryl Brown Henderson as this year’s keynote speaker for Martin Luther King Jr. Week.
Henderson spoke on the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education case and shared her own personal experiences during her speech Jan. 23 in the Staples Family Concert Hall in the Music Building.
Her father, Reverend Oliver L. Brown, helped contribute to the decision of Brown v. Board of Education, a trademark case which made it unconstitutional to separate schools on the basis of race.
Along with teaching the audience history, Henderson shared some of her own personal stories. Henderson told the audience about her time in college, when she was assigned a white roommate. Her roommate’s parents received a letter of Henderson’s race, which asked if they would be comfortable with their daughter living with Henderson. After the letter was received, Henderson was informed her roommate was changed.
Henderson went off that personal story by then addressing how she spoke out about the inequality she faced. She spoke about the importance of protests, and for individuals to speak their minds.
She said she believes “democracy is messy and it requires our involvement to make it work.”
“I hope they (CMU students) take away the importance of being an activist, the importance of recognizing democracy demands that you be involved and not sit on the sidelines,” Henderson said
Henderson discussed a lot of historical moments to educate the audience on topics they may not know.
For Detroit senior El'Ninti Little, she gained knowledge on other Supreme Court cases due to Henderson’s lecture.
“The most interesting part was probably when she touched upon other Supreme Court cases other than Brown v. Board of Education or Plessy v. Ferguson because those were the only two I were familiar with,” Little said.
Henderson aimed to inform the audience on history and to answer any questions audience members might have had. She also took some time to honor teachers in the audience, or those studying to become teachers.
Henderson wanted the audience to know the important role she believes teachers have in society, and the impact they can have on individuals.
The night started later than originally planned, as students were continuing to enter the auditorium after the event was supposed to begin. According to Wade Tomson, executive secretary for Multicultural Academic Student Services, the turnout for the night was his goal.
“Coming out here and seeing a line of people going through the lobby out here is exactly what I wanted to see," Tomson said. "I'm really happy with the turnout."
For Tomson, he hopes that ultimately students were able to value Henderson’s first-hand experience and see the Brown v. Board of Education case in a different perspective.
“I hope (students can take away) just the glimpse of the history of such a landmark case,” he said. “Having somebody whose family was a part of that and can speak that firsthand knowledge. So much of what we get from professors is what they have learned, but she was there. This is a big part of her story as an individual so I think that’s just a really unique perspective that students can get.”
