Martin Luther King Convocation, Dr. Aaron Dobines

In his speech, Dr. Dobynesclearly shows us how important it is to understand King's life and legacy today. While African Americans and other minorities have made a lot of ground in society, the world of today is far from equal and just. Yet, King's method for dealing with such disparities is simple. As the speaker articulates, King's work was rooted in basic ideas. Without these ideas, King would not have been able to face the daunting task in front of him. Dobynes stresses King's core belief in the goodness of man. King believes in an "eternal hope for humanity," as Dobynes pulls from King's letters and records. If King did not believe people could change, then such an attempt to fight racism would have been useless and a waste of time. People are essentially good, but this good must be awakened in them. Such an awakening could be achieved through service and devotion to humanity. One good dead fosters another. Dobynesillustrates that King's life is primarily one of service. This is particularly shown when King fights for better pay for sanitation workers. Another one of King's core beliefs is that time does not necessarily create progress. Society must strive for progress, it is never inevitable. These beliefs demonstrate that one can change society, since man is good, but one must labor in this endeavor.

From King's work, Dr. Dobynes looks at the work needed today. He points to women's' issues, gay and lesbian rights, and poverty. These issues are essentially no different than King's stance on equality for African Americans and others in his day. They all point to injustice to humanity. It is not moral to keep anyone at a lower status in society, for any reason whatsoever. As King also posited, we are more united than we are separated. All of us share a common human bond. Thus, it is up to us to work for the betterment of ourselves as a species. Dr. Dobynes suggests that the work is all around us from our back yard to those ravaged by the earthquake in Haiti. It is only necessary that we move society forward by loving humanity.