Sunday, 19 November 2017

Remembering a Great Man

One of the reasons for my recent trip to the UK was to attend the 50th anniversary of a remarkable event for me. On 13th November 1967, the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne conferred an honorary doctoral degree on the American civil rights activist and, by then Nobel Laureate, Martin Luther King. It was his only visit to the UK. I attended that ceremony, but for me the day had much greater significance. He put in a request to meet formally 'students' and I was, at the time, treasurer of the Student Union. That in itself was great work for me as (a) the union building was not owned by the university but, like Oxford and Cambridge, run by elected students; and (b) I was nominally in charge of over 30 staff and something like 4 bars! And I was by then in my second year as a doctoral candidate.

Anyway, I was working in the Union office when the request came in and, strange to relate, my hand shot up and I immediately nominated myself. I'd long been interested in American politics and was well aware of the significance of King's role in promoting civil rights for black Americans. And so it came to pass that I and another student, whose name escapes me after the time lapse of half a century, were seated in a triangle with the great man in the middle of the Union's music room. As an aside, I had hoped to see the location of this event on my return to Newcastle 35 years after my last visit in 1982, but a remodelling of the building had removed both its music room and debating chamber modelled on the House of Commons. I attended many high-powered debates there regularly and that chamber held vivid memories for me, not to forget a brass name-plate commemorating my role as Treasurer. That, too, was missing.

To keep things short, Martin Luther King lyrically discussed his aims, strategies and achievements with us for over half an hour. His deep voice resonated through the room, but what particularly impressed me was his thoughtful and considered approach to our discussion of the complex and deeply rooted issues in which he was engaged. Also impressive was his attachment to achieving his aims via peaceful means, not violent revolution. All this made him by far the most impressive leader I have engaged with - and by the way, I have been lucky in meeting many business, government, and community leaders in my time. But, alas, many of them cannot avoid simplifying complex issues and talking glibly - as politicians usually do - in 30 second media grabs. Thus, my meeting on that day 50 years ago has remained among the most unforgettable events of my life. I was interviewed at length about such feelings by a journalist from the Newcastle Chronicle - the local newspaper - and conveyed there much of what I've just said.

And so to the celebrations about which I have a few photos. The first few are parts of the campus that I remembered well from my students days, starting with the imposing Union building and a renamed bar within it!



Here are the arches leading into the main quadrangle shown in the following photos.




And finally, here's Kings Hall where the original investiture and last week's commemoration were both held. As far as I remember, the Hall is not named after Martin Luther King!


Before the official commemoration in Kings Hall, there was the unveiling of a bronze sculpture of Martin Luther King in a nearby quadrangle. This art-work was by one of the UK's leading sculptors.


The speeches included one by the head of the University in Boston where MLK studied.


Th blue shroud is removed to reveal the statue - to great applause.



Someone kindly took a picture of me alongside the great man.


This rear view shows some of the great detail provided by the sculptor.


During the day, I met up with only one person I knew from my student days, Nick Nicholson, and our reminiscences were interesting for me.

AS

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