As part of this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations, a UF professor spoke about solutions to racism Tuesday.
About 100 people gathered in the Reitz Union Grand Ballroom to hear UF African-American history professor Ibram Kendi talk about the legacies of King and Malcolm X. Kendi also spoke about his latest book, “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” which discusses U.S. racial tensions and won the nonfiction National Book award in 2016.
As a high-school senior 16 years ago, Kendi said he participated in an MLK oratory contest. Ever since, King and Malcolm X have shaped his work.
“It changed my life,” Kendi said. “It was really that contest that put me on this role.”
He said he admires how their role in the civil rights movement changed throughout their lives. King, in particular, who realized about four years after his “I Have a Dream” speech his optimism wouldn’t see results.
He then replaced his views with what he called “solid realism,” Kendi told the audience, something most people don’t know about.
Kendi said he hoped to shed light on a different side of King this year.
“I’m excited about MLK Day this year, because Americans in some ways are forced to learn more about the MLK they actually don’t know about.”
After Kendi spoke, one student asked how racism can be eliminated. Kendi said the root of racism lies with people in power who set hateful policies out of self-interest.
“We thought the basis of the problem was ignorance and hate,” Kendi told the student. “We’ve actually found it’s the inverse.”
Another asked how people can protest what he viewed as President-elect Donald Trump’s racist and sexist views. Kendi advised people should seek power by getting involved in local government.
“He’ll whine and tweet at you, but there isn’t much the president-elect can do,” Kendi said. “People should focus on their immediate surroundings.”
Rashid Alrashid, a UF materials engineering senior, said that while he identifies as Syrian, he enjoyed hearing people from other ethnicities talk about their views on racism.
“It was helpful and educational,” the 22-year-old said. “I learned that if you want to change racist ideas and people, you need to make sure you’re not racist first.”
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Ibram Kendi, a UF African-American history professor, spoke on Tuesday about racial tensions in the U.S. The event was part of the MLK Day celebration.
