PORT ANGELES — Early in his talk titled “Find the Martin Luther King Within You,” Eric Davis invited a young white man to lie on the floor of Peninsula College’s Little Theatre.
As Teagan Cambier, 19, lay down in front of the roomful of spectators, Davis urged everybody forward for an interactive lesson on oppression.
Davis, who teaches African-American studies at Pierce College in Lakewood, gave Peninsula College’s Studium Generale speech on Thursday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.’s 80th birthday — and called the crowd’s attention to what he called “a major cultural shift.”
His scene with Cambier was the centerpiece of the 50-minute program.
“If I put my foot on his neck and hold him down, is that oppression?” Davis asked.
Yes, a few answered.
King, Davis went on, inspired people to stand up together, in nonviolent protest — marches, boycotts, rallies electrified by his oratory — to begin to overcome oppression.
Next Davis invited Cambier to rise up a few inches from the ground. “Hold it right there,” he told the student. “I’m going to go get some water.”
Davis sauntered to the side of the room; almost everyone stood still, watching. Cambier held his upper body at an angle, as if halfway into a sit-up.
Nobody did anything — except a young black man, who extended his leg to give Cambier something to lean on. But as Davis came back to Cambier, the other man withdrew his leg.
“Holding up halfway is a little harder,” Davis said, though he noticed that Cambier had strong abdominal muscles.
What he’d aimed to demonstrate was that, when laws such as the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act are passed, that’s only halfway up into the battle against oppression.
For the whole victory, social change and attitude change need to happen.
Then Davis asked: “The rest of you were up and watching; why didn’t you help him?”
Answers included “I didn’t want to interfere.” And Davis believes that all too often, neighbors don’t step in because the status quo feels safe; onlookers know the rules of society and aren’t about to break them.
“This is how oppression works,” he said. “I held one guy down” physically, “and I oppressed the rest of you without having to touch you.”
A nudge for change
“I’m not trying to start a revolution at Peninsula College,” Davis said, as the silence dissolved into light laughter.
What he was hoping to do: Encourage students to stand up for positive change.
“This is a special moment in time,” Davis said. With the inauguration of Barack Obama, the first person of color to be elected president of the United States, a cultural shift is well under way.
“You have a responsibility . . . a chance,” he added, “to help this change, help this shift.”
This is quite a week, Davis said, with the holiday commemorating King’s life today and the swearing-in of a biracial president on Tuesday.
He reminded his young audience of King’s last speech, given the night before his April 4, 1968, assassination.
“I’ve been to the mountaintop . . . and I’ve seen the promised land,” King said. “I may not get there with you . . . But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.”
The promised land is a place where people treat each other as equals, even as brothers and sisters, a land where all live King’s dream.
“The idea that Dr. King put forth was: What can we do to bring the best out in each other?” Davis said.
“Dream 2.0,” he added, is not so much about legislation, but about “us looking at each other as humans and asking: How can we help each other?”
Oppression is not gone from this country, Davis said. Its legacy persists as members of minority groups, women and the poor struggle for equal rights.
Many Peninsula College students are the first in their families to attend college, he said.
Create welcoming culture
“Your responsibility is to create a culture here where everybody feels welcome. One bad experience can make somebody walk away,” Davis said.
“There are still people in our communities we need to uplift and support,” such as Native Americans, he added. “Smile at people as you walk across campus. Make students of color feel welcome.”
College is a time to learn, grow — and look for ways to bring people with different backgrounds together.
Davis pointed out that King was in his 20s when he became a civil rights leader; he was 35 when he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. He was killed at 39.
And Davis, who entered his fourth decade on Wednesday, added, “Those of us over 40 still have a lot left to do.”
“The work has just begun. The election has happened. Now it’s our time to change the world.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
