In his letter from the Birmingham City Jail to several clergymen on April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. lamented: "I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of goodwill. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men [sic] . . . We must use time creatively. . . . Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy, . . . to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity."

Elaine Brown, IU's 2009 MLK Celebration Day Lecturer, was an active participant in the social dialogue and resulting changes of the 1960s. While commending the current generation's sense of history and connectedness to that social movement, she also urged students in the audience to find that cause and those actions that are relevant to their own times–to their own generation–and to rise to those current challenges and needs.

The MLK Day Essay Committee invites graduate and undergraduate students of IU Bloomington to submit an original essay that draws on their experiences to respond to this question: "How have you [or someone you admire] answered Dr. King's and Ms. Brown's call to find and act upon a cause relevant to your own generation?"

Successful essays will answer the question, make specific reference not only to the writer's personal experience and observations, but also to the life, times, and writings of Dr. King.

Submissions:

Writers should submit six (6) copies of their completed essays by 5:00 pm on Monday, December 7, 2009, to the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs, Bryan Hall Room 115.

ESSAYS SUBMITTED DIRECTLY TO JUDGES OR COMMITTEE MEMBERS WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED. To ensure blind judging, writers should not show drafts or final copies of their essays to committee members or judges. Writers should place their names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses on a separate sheet; their names should not appear in the text of their essays.

Revised: November 18, 2009

Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs
Bryan Hall 115, Bloomington, IN 47405-7000, USA
(812) 856-5700

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