Honoring MLK's courage

COEUR d'ALENE - The speakers at a Coeur d'Alene program honoring Martin Luther King Jr. came from diverse backgrounds, but shared a variety of anecdotes based on one common theme - courage.

Three panelists spoke Monday afternoon to a small crowd at the Human Rights Education Institute. The event was held in conjunction with events around the nation celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Lisa Manning, interim director of the institute, introduced the day's first speaker, David Whitfield, and spoke of how the longtime college professor helped propel her into the field of civil rights.

"He's had a tremendous influence on myself and all of his students," Manning said.

Whitfield, who lived on a cotton plantation in Mississippi until he was 13, said he was inspired by King's courage to change his life by leaving the south for Chicago. King was arrested and jailed countless times during his life as a civil rights activist and Whitfield said "he never stopped" in spite of the hardships he experienced.

"He came out more courageous and determined each time," Whitfield said. "King had the courage to confront those who trampled on others' civil liberties. He made courage his friend."

King did not complete his work in making America an equal place for all, Whitfield said. The professor said there is "a lot of work" to do in this country and mentioned areas like education and income inequality.

But what King did accomplish, according to Whitfield, was to inspire future generations to continue his courageous work.

"Even today in the universities I teach in, if there's a tradition that isn't working, I challenge that tradition," Whitfied said. "I challenge that tradition because of King."

The next speaker was Coeur d'Alene resident Wayne Manis. In 1969, Manis said, when he was a young FBI agent, he was assigned to the agency's offices in Birmingham, Ala. Part of his duties involved introducing himself to local police chiefs and Manis said he was shocked when he went into one of the stations and saw segregated drinking fountains.

Manis said he asked the chief of police about the fountains and was told that the department never thought to remove them even though they were illegal. A week later however, due to Manis' inquiry, the signs were down.

"The chief looked at me and told me 'Sometimes we have to be encouraged to do these things,'" Manis said. "I know there's a great deal of strife still in this country. But I have a great deal of confidence that we can continue to do better."

Civil rights attorney Norm Gissel told the attendees about his first experience with Jim Crow laws and segregation. It was during a drive through Arkansas in 1963, he said, when he stopped to get gas at a small station.

There were restrooms for men and women, Gissel said, and next to those were several oil drums welded together in a circular pattern. In large white print, the word "nigger" was spelled out, an indicator to Gissel that that was where blacks were supposed to use the restroom.

"I was forever radicalized from that moment on. It occurred to me that not only was there a deeply evil man running that gas station, but also that the white elite in that area allowed it to happen," Gissel said. "At two different levels there was outrage and that was a big deal to me."

Gissel became a prominent civil rights attorney and was involved in prosecuting the case that bankrupted the Aryan Nations.

As the panel discussion wound down, Manning encouraged attendees to not only spend time looking at the exhibits at the institute, but to continue the important discussion on King started at the event as well.