DR. WEST TELLS INDIANA AUDIENCE WHY THE “RADICAL LOVE” OF MLK IS NEEDED MORE THAN EVER By: Maynard Eaton & Michal Williams
It was a potent, powerful and poignant private discussion with the inimitable intellectual and political activist Dr. Cornel West, an hour before he addressed a sold-out crowd at Ivy Tech Community College. Located in the small working-class City of Kokomo, Indiana, West was addressing a multi-racial crowd of nearly 500 at the College’s annual “Doing the Dream” event, commemorating the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Kokomo is at a fork in the road," when asked about the timeliness of his journey to Kokomo to address the community. "Things are taking off. So if it’s going to take off financially, then it also needs to take off spiritually and morally". Photo credit to A. Walker Shaw
Kokomo’s life-blood has been the auto industry for the last 129 years. Elwood Haynes invented the first “horseless carriage” in Kokomo and started producing cars there commercially in 1894. The city has seen its share of ups and downs with factory closures and immense job losses over the last century. Today, the city is trying to adapt to new trends and is very excited about a new EV manufacturing plant slated to open its doors in 2025. ”"It’s a wonderful thing that more money flows, that more jobs with a living wage are available," West opines. "That’s very important, but human beings don’t live by bread alone. Is the quality of their heart, the quality of their love, the quality of relationships and the quality of how they treat others.” West adds, “Martin [Luther King, Jr.] learned that at Ebenezer Baptist Church. He didn’t invent it. He came out of tradition, and there are a lot of voices that are taking that seriously, so those of us who are trying to build a legacy of Martin, how do we empower each other in the community?” Ironically and incredulously, West did not know that the occasion of his 2023 appearance also marked the 100th anniversary of Kokomo’s infamous KKK Rally and March. The largest documented in American history, this rally drew over 200,000 Klan members to Kokomo on July 4th,1923.
SCLC National Magazine/ Spring 2023 Issue