[MUSIC PLAYING]
CAL MACKENZIE: This
was a big event.
At that time in 1964,
the civil rights movement
was the biggest
news in the country.
CROWD: (SINGING) Freedom,
freedom, freedom.
CAL MACKENZIE: And here
was the featured player
in the civil rights
movement on our campus.
So it was it was a big deal.
CHRISTOS GIANOPOULOS: I
mean, Martin Luther King
was in a different league.
He was a major political,
cultural, intellectual figure.
MR.RANDOLPH: Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.
Thank you, Mr. Randolph.
WAYNE BURTON: He was
a name because he
wanted to make sure we knew
it was our responsibility
to find out what was going
on in Tennessee and Georgia
and Alabama.
GEORGE ELIADES:
We never expected
the crowd that gathered
for this particular event.
I'm sure you probably
have heard about it.
It had to get moved
to another venue
because the crowds
were so large.
FRED STODDARD: So
there was a real sense
of anticipation, certainly,
at the First Parish Church.
It was packed.
Everyone was-- there with
a sense of excitement
to have him there and
have him speaking.
And certainly, the "I
Have a Dream" speech,
the march was very
much on people's minds.
CHRISTOS GIANOPOULOS:
We wanted to hear him.
We wanted to hear what he was
saying and what he was up to.
And I think there was
a sense of reverence
and a sense of real respect
for what he was trying to do.
He was speaking calmly and
with a lot of determination,
knowing that he needed all
the support he could get
and that he was on
the side of the right.
GEORGE ELIADES: When
the event ended,
our group invited him
to the student union
right across the way here, at
that time, for a cup of coffee.
He was waiting for a ride.
I believe he had a long
overcoat on, and it was--
I don't know if it was cold.
But he was quite
a figure in that.
The student union
had two couches,
just as we have here
facing each other.
And I'm not even sure how I did
it, but the next thing I know,
I had Dr. King over
here and I was here.
CAL MACKENZIE: So I went
in and I found a chair,
and I pulled it up
and sat there for--
it's hard to remember
how long it was.
It seemed like it
was a whole evening
but it was an hour or more, for
sure, of a real conversation.
And to me, that was the
stunning part of that.
He wasn't treating
us as anything other
than human beings he was
having a conversation with.
STUDENT: So I'd
like to know when
nonviolent action does, in fact,
become violent and destructive?
MARTIN LUTHER KING,
JR. I believe firmly
that the solution lies
in total nonviolence.
I am committed to
this philosophy.
I think it has strength.
I think it has
the kind of power,
that I was trying to say
in my talk tonight, that
can transform society.
And the more we
commit ourselves to it
and the more we see its meaning,
the more we can do through it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
WAYNE BURTON: At the end,
I said, this is wonderful,
what you talked about.
I'm really glad I came.
But what's it got to
do with me, a white kid
in an all-white school
in an all-white state?
And he looked at me and he
said, if your conscience
stops at the border of Maine,
you're less of a person
than you should
be, and you're as
responsible for what
happens in Birmingham as you
are in Brunswick.
GEORGE ELIADES: We
all know and remember
what effect that visit
had upon all of us
because we talk about it,
as I said, quite often.
I've talked to many
people about it.
It was a wonderful day.
He was a fabulous guy.
FRED STODDARD: And then
afterwards, King wrote, "This
is just a note to express
my appreciation to you
for the many courtesies extended
to me on my recent visit
to Bowdoin College.
You made my visit very
meaningful and enjoyable.
I will always remember
the warm reception there.
I hope that my message
in some little ways
serves to shed light on
the difficult problem
of racial injustice which
still pervades our nation.
I can think of few things
that I enjoy more than
discussing some of the
vital issues of our day
with college students.
I hope that it will be possible
for me to visit Bowdoin
sometime in the future."
DAN DORMAN: King
today is someone
who is central to the
American experience.
And it is almost
impossible to live here
without at least being aware of
him and the effect that he had
on moving the country and
perhaps even setting a standard
that a person has to do more
than just think about things,
but there's the importance
is to be engaged
in the world around you and
to take actions that are going
to create a more just society.
HENRY BREDAR: I think,
as Dr. King said,
injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice everywhere.
I just think that
that's something
that every student recognizes,
that this might not
be the 1960s, it might not be
the chaos and discrimination
at the time, but there's
still so much more to be done.
There's so many more
steps to be taken,
so much more
progress to be found.
AMBER ROCK: Activism is really
student driven here at Bowdoin.
A lot of the administration
is happy to help,
but it really starts at
the students, where we have
to say, hey, this is a problem.
We need to change this.
HANNAH GRAHAM: easy to take
the backseat and be like, oh,
I don't need to
be more involved.
But at the same
time, I think it's
really important for
everyone to kind of step up.
KIANY PROBHERBS: Just because
I'm a minority on this campus
doesn't mean that the
conversation comes just
from me.
It means that the conversation
is a two-sided conversation
about learning what
it means to live
in a privileged
environment, also what
it means to live in an
underprivileged environment,
and just learning how to
have several conversations
about things in which
people disagree,
but also teaching how to be
peaceful and kind and generous
with people, even when other
people aren't understanding
and aren't as generous and kind.
FRANCISCO NAVARRO:
He spoke about how
anyone living inside
the United States
shouldn't be an outsider.
He spoke about our common
interests, our common goals.
And I think we have
recently been a bit divided,
so I think we could
invoke some of that spirit
and understand that we should
reignite the dream again.
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