Guest columnist
Fifty years ago this week, Martin Luther King Jr. was here in Durham, scheduled to speak at White Rock Baptist Church in downtown Durham. King had been invited by the Rev. Douglass Moore to speak on behalf of the students heading the nonviolent sit-in protests in Greensboro. King accepted the invitation, eager to make his first direct contact with the North Carolina sit-in movement.
On Feb. 1, 1960, the sit-in movement began at Greensboro lunch counters. Four North Carolina A&T students had purchased toothpaste and school supplies at Woolworth's. When they presented their receipts to show their proof of purchase, the four students were denied service to a cup of coffee at the lunch counter. The students sat quietly in their seats until closing time, silently protesting the store's discrimination. This event marked the beginning of the revolutionary nonviolent protest movement that swept through the South in the 1960s.
On the morning of Feb. 16, 1960, Martin Luther King flew into Durham. King was given a tour of downtown Durham, including a visit to the local Woolworth's store on West Main and Corcoran.
That afternoon King took part in a strategy meeting with student representatives from different cities throughout North Carolina. King discussed techniques of nonviolence and emphasized that proper methods lead to proper victory. He reminded the students that the struggle was "justice versus injustice, not black versus white."
King recognized the importance of the student leaders and suggested to these representatives that a "coordinating council" of members from each of the various schools and cities of North Carolina be founded. One observer noted that, "many student leaders expressed the desire to keep the movement as much 'student-led' as possible."
That night King spoke at White Rock Baptist Church with an audience estimated at 1,200 people.
Although not as famous as many of his other speeches, King's address in Durham that night was sensational. Acknowledging the first of the nonviolent student campaigns, this speech left a lasting impact on the North Carolina crowds, both motivating and directing his audience in how they must continue their fight.
Right off the bat, King expressed his support for the student leaders:
"You students of North Carolina have captured this dynamic idea in a marvelous manner. You have taken the undying and passionate yearning for freedom and filtered it in your own soul and fashioned it into a creative protest that is destined to be one of the glowing epics of our time."
The excitement and life of King's speech fed on the idea that students, the African-American youth of America, could lead our country to a brighter, democratic future.
Strategically titling his speech, "A creative protest," King motivated the student leaders to continue their protest in a "creative" nonviolent manner. Opposing the view of other civil rights leaders of the time, such as Malcolm X, King believed the students should continue to love their white brothers, and protest in a way of love and graciousness.
That night King reminded his audience, "Let us protest with the ultimate aim of being reconciled with our white brothers. As we sit down quietly to request a cup of coffee, let us not forget to drink from that invisible cup of love."
King said it right: A community is built one cup at a time, and it must be the cup of love and not the cup of bitterness and hatred.
Fifty years from now, I would like to commemorate these wise words.
As we in Durham continue to untangle racial discrimination's knotty legacy, we should remember to ask, "Are we drinking from that 'invisible cup of love' Dr. King mentioned?"
Today we should honor the distinguished words of Dr. King, who advised us to fight our battles through love and dignity. To remember the power of righteousness, "All the darkness in the world cannot obscure the light of a single candle." And to never lose hope or retreat, "You struggle to win a victory."
Let's give thanks for the fearless leader and uplifting spirit of Dr. King, who brought new life and meaning to not only our city of Durham, but to our nation as a whole.
Christine Hardman graduated from Durham Academy High School in 2007 and is a communications major at Furman University.
