NMU Kicks Off MLK Week

The weather didn’t put a damper on Martin Luther King Day.

For many, it’s a day off from work or school.

At Northern Michigan University, it kicks off MLK week, celebrating the life’s work of one of the most beloved Americans ever.

Joan Morgan is a former executive director of Essence magazine.

She spoke with students, faculty and staff about what Dr. King would think of America in 2011.

Is it post–racial?

She feels he would believe that, at least to some degree.

Morgan says in her opinion, Dr. King would also push the idea that the terms ‘black American’ and ‘African-American’ don’t mean the same thing — about 3 million black Americans are not descendants of African slaves.

Many of those 3 million are immigrants who were born in the Caribbean or Latin America.

Morgan herself is in this group — she was born in Jamaica and her family emigrated when she was a toddler.

Dr. King’s actual birth date was January 15th.

If he were still with us, he would have turned 82 on Saturday.