Students at the University of Oregon are considering whether a famous quote by civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., is inclusive enough for today’s special snowflakes.
The quote hanging above the lobby of the schools’ Erb Memorial Union reads: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream…”
This quote — King’s most famous — is apparently not inclusive enough because it addresses only race. When students were asked if they wanted to keep the King quote or find a new one, one student asked: “Does the MLK quote represent us today?”
Another student, sophomore Mia Ashley, took the sentiment a step further.
“Diversity is so much more than race,” Ashley told the student newspaper, the Daily Emerald. “Obviously race still plays a big role. But there are people who identify differently in gender and all sorts of things like that.”
I keep thinking we’ve hit peak social justice, and then something like this comes along.
I’ll temper this report by acknowledging that the quotes above were from just two students, so perhaps — we can only hope — they are outliers and not representative of the student body. But this isn’t the first time Oregon students have complained about the quote hanging in the Union.
In the 1970s, a different quote was featured, this one from the Dean of Administrative Emeritus, William C. Jones. The last two lines of his quote read: “Guardian of the noble in man’s aspiration for the humane society. Leader in the quest for the good life for all men.”
See the problem? He said “man” and “men.” And while he was obviously referring to mankind, students began complaining. When these complaints were brought to Jones in 1978, he reportedly said he was unwilling to “give hostage to ignorance.”
Good for him. Too bad the rest of the school’s administration didn’t feel the same. The quote was changed to the King quote in 1986. Who could have imagined one of the most important and agreeable quotes in all of history would one day become problematic?
Thankfully, King’s quote will remain in the Union … for now. Director of the Student Union Laurie Woodward said she wasn’t sure if the quote would remain in the future, and said she liked the discussion it has sparked.
“What words are is important but what’s more important is that people think about what the words should be,” Woodward said.
This is what we’re seeing on college campuses across the country. Precious little participation trophy winners who find offense in everything trying to rewrite history to exclude anything that doesn’t meet their impossibly high (and contradictory) standards. It was only a matter of time before Martin Luther King, Jr. became too controversial.
Ashe Schow is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
