UF students and residents from around the Gainesville community took a look back at the civil rights movement Wednesday night.
Mike Honey, award-winning historian of the civil rights and labor movements and president of the Labor and Working Class History Association, spoke to an audience of 60 at the Eastside Recreation Center in east Gainesville.
The event, sponsored by the Samuel Proctor Oral History program, focused on the social change enacted by Martin Luther King Jr.
He discussed how this change is relevant during the Obama administration.
In Honey’s book, “Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?” he talks about King’s goal of unifying people by increasing economic equality and advocating in support of civil rights.
“It’s very important to understand King in a way that most people usually don’t,” Honey said.
“King always had a broad agenda for social change and dedicated his life to it,” he added.
Throughout the event, Honey said achieving peace is just as important an aspiration now as it was during the civil rights movement.
“If you can keep people divided, you can keep them weak,” he said.
During the event, the audience joined Honey as he displayed his musical talents by performing a song entitled “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize.”
After his performance, he discussed how the problems addressed by King are still evident today.
Honey said the United States leads the world in incarceration rates.
He questioned why it isn’t leading in its ability to provide jobs.
“History doesn’t repeat itself,” Honey said. “King dedicated his life to push people to be able to go as far as their potential can take them, so that new history can be made.”
As a part of Honey’s trip to Gainesville, the historian said he plans to speak with graduate students Friday about their personal theses.
Honey was not paid for his Gainesville appearance, according to Paul Ortiz, director of the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program.
