March of dreams

Jeff Benson

Jim Craig marched on -- a 62-year-old seasoned warrior of peace,

trying to blend in with a new breed of social advocates.

Halfway through the rally and march held Thursday in honor of

Martin Luther King Jr., a student handed Craig a sign reading “No

More Sweatshops.” She was too tired to carry it.

Craig didn’t mind. A former vice chancellor at the university,

he’d been participating in the annual march since UCI’s first one, 21

years ago.

“For us older people, this is an affirmation of taking action,”

Craig said. “For the younger ones, it’s an education process. It’s

important to know we can have an impact on the world around us.”

The Cross Cultural Center’s rally and march concluded three days

of events that paid tribute to King, who would have celebrated his

76th birthday Jan. 15.

Fifty people of all ages and ethnicities marched a half-mile

around Ring Road, hoisting homemade signs for peace and chanting

messages, such as: “King had a dream; we have a goal,” and “A people

united will never be defeated.”

The center also showed a documentary on race in society, science

and history, broken over the three days.

In addition, Aaron McGruder, creator of “The Boondocks” comic

strip, spoke Thursday night on “The Ethics of Dissent” and how young

people can impact public policy.

The chants of equal opportunity and racial tolerance have stayed

on par with those in King’s era, but some of the signs students and

staff carried Thursday have changed. One sign read: “Not all Muslims

are terrorists.” Another proclaimed: “Justice for WWII

Filipino-American veterans.”

“It’s a commitment to making life better for other people, and

commitment is an absolutely critical part of the human dream,” Craig

said.

Psychology professor and assistant vice chancellor for health

services Thomas Parham shared King’s message with students Thursday

in front of the Student Center.

“Dr. King was an ordinary man, who had extraordinary conviction,”

Parham told a lunchtime crowd. “He was an ordinary man, who displayed

extraordinary courage. He was an ordinary man, who showed the

willingness to put people’s convictions even above his own.

“ ... How do we carry out his message? You have to be an ordinary

person with extraordinary willingness to get involved.”

Parham, who wrote his first essay on King and the civil rights

struggle in 1967, also pushed the importance of serving the community

and integrating minorities and women into the institutional fabric,

rather than desegregating it.

“One of the reasons the ‘isms’ -- like racism -- don’t change is

because we haven’t learned as a society to cross the democratic

boundaries to become advocates for one another,” Parham said

* JEFF BENSON covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617 or by e-mail at [email protected].