When Ernest Green walked across the stage at Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., in 1958 as the first black student to graduate from the all-white establishment, the room was silent and heavy with the fear he may be killed.
Green, one of nine students who integrated Central High School, talked about his life and experiences, including how it felt to be barred from school by an angry mob, and what it was like to have the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. attend his graduation ceremony. In 1999, Green, along with other members of the group, received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor awarded to a civilian, from then-President Bill Clinton for bravery.
Last night, Green spoke of President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration in Washington, just across the National Mall from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial where the 1963 March on Washington culminated.
“We cannot all be president, but we can all be agents of change,” he said. “Agents who feel the slow burning embers to make change.”
Green described an agent of change as, quite simply, “a singular individual with a dream of a better tomorrow.”
Green was quick to point out that not all agents of change become household names and that celebrity was not a part of the mission. He spoke of activists whose names and deeds never reached newspapers, received mention in history books or appeared in historical dramas, such as this year’s critically acclaimed civil rights film “Selma.”
“The mission was not to make history,” said Green. “The mission was to change the conditions of that time.”
Green gave the crowd five characteristics agents of change must possess.
First, one must ask “why not” when faced with a challenge, a lesson learned while still in high school in Little Rock. A few weeks into the fall semester during his senior year, Green encountered an older black man in his neighborhood who asked why the young people needed to upset the white faction of the community and create problems for those who would remain there and not go off to college.
“He should have asked, ‘why not,’” Green said. “I know I could meet the challenge It’s the same question as why couldn’t a black woman be treated the same on a bus and Rosa Parks became an emblematic agent of change.”
The second quality he outlined is knowing change is constant and to be able to adapt to it.
Without adapting his expectations, he said he would have never made it through that year at Central High. And he used Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall as another example of someone who faced seemingly insurmountable obstacles throughout his life.
“The law was being used as a weapon at the time and he knew that he had to adapt to the change that was happening,” Green said of Marshall’s years as a civil rights lawyer.
Thirdly, an agent of change must understand that if something is in their way, to go around it rather than through it.
When confronted with angry mobs and the Arkansas National Guard blocking their way into the school, Green and the other eight students sat at home and patiently waited for another chance at integrating Central High. When that chance came, Green and the others embodied the nonviolent principles King preached.
According to Green, another quality those who hope to enact change must embody is not stopping in light of obstacles.
“When greater things are meant for you, no weapon can stop you,” he said.
And lastly, one must remember they are not alone in the fight for change.
“You’re not in this alone,” Green said to the students. “Form bonds with people from all walks of life. Take advantage of what’s in front of you, but don’t be afraid to look beyond.”
“We see archival footage and read speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. and James Farmer and forget that no man is born wise. We remember King as the shining star of the ’60s civil rights movement but he did not do it alone.”
Green then challenged students at UMW to take advantage of their personal sphere of friends and go beyond it, as well, to find resources for change.
Nikki Oestreicher, Jillian Talley and Tionge Johnson, all UMW seniors who have classes together, attended the lecture, but not for course credit.
“I felt like, with Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, it’s important to continue talking about issues,” Talley said.
“I looked up if there was a keynote speaker and had to come see him,” Johnson said. “It’s really important to talk about racial issues that are still prevalent today.”
Green called on students not to turn their phones off during the talk, but to use Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and any other social media they have to share any moment that made an impact on them.
But he reminded them, too, that the struggle shouldn’t stop there.
The civil rights movement, he said, “was a war that lasted for many years with casualties not known to most people.”
While social media sharing is good, it can also lead to inaction. He charged listeners to take action, because as King said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
“We must stand up against injustice,” regardless if it’s “Michael Brown or Eric Garner or the injustice in Nigeria or officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu.”
UMW will have other events related to the Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration, as well.
On Thursday, Jan. 22 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. the Black Student Association, Brothers of a New Direction and Women of Color are holding a blood drive.
And on Saturday, Jan. 24 from 10 a.m. to noon, UMW is holding its annual MLK Jr. Day of Service, during which students give back to the community to honor King’s legacy.
Lindley Estes: 540.735-1976
lestes@freelancestar.com