Northwestern students listened to actor Harry Lennix and took part in a candle light vigil in Alice Millar Chapel Monday night, to remember Martin Luther King, Jr.
Students packed into the Alice Millar Chapel Monday night for a candle light vigil hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha. The keynote speaker was Harry Lennix, a Northwestern alumnus and accomplished stage, film, and television actor. Lennix repeatedly criticized the Bush administration.
While Lennix spoke of some “bright spots on the American landscape,” such as Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Deval Patrick, he claimed that there is still a long way to go.
“To get us back on track and to show the world that we are serious about progress in the future, [we need] to elect into the highest office in the land either a person of color or a woman,” Lennix said to thunderous applause. “Such an event would prove that Dr. King’s prophecy was based in plausibility.”
Though the speech was surprisingly frank, many agreed with Weinberg freshman Justan Vaughn, who exclaimed, “Harry Lennix is the man!”
“I thought [the speech] was more political than it maybe should have been, but I think that it still dealt with the issues that were at hand,” said Gina Lawrence, a Weinberg sophomore.
After the ceremony concluded, Lennix defended his radical speech.
“I was aware that it might [upset people], but it was a risk I was willing to take because it needs to be said,” he said. “We cannot be concerned right now with people’s level of comfort, because if we don’t deal with these issues now, they’re going to come back and make all of us uncomfortable.”
Melanie Brezill, a Communication sophomore, said she thought it was very provocative.
“It seemed to be very honest and very necessary,” Brezill said. “I liked that it wasn’t your typical feel-good speech in that he actually brought up questions that we can continue to ask ourselves throughout the year.”
Audio and text by Elaine Williams. Photos by Melissa Tussing.