The Trumpet of Conscience: MLK’s 1967 Message on “The Impasse in Race Relations” and How We Move Forward in the 21^st Century

Prof. Sheryll Cashin
Marquette University 2016 Ralph Metcalfe fellow
Professor of Law, Georgetown University
Author, Pace Not Race: A New Vision of Opportunity in America

January 21, 2016, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.
Marquette Law School, Eckstein Hall
Sponsored by Marquette Law School, Raynor Memorial Libraries, and the Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion

In 1967, over one hundred race riots erupted across the nation, most lethally in Detroit where a riot began with a police raid on an after-hours bar and ended five days later with 43 deaths. In December of that year Dr. King delivered the first of a series of prestigious Massey lectures on Canadian public radio, entitled “The Impasse in Race Relations.” After his assassination four months later, the lecture series was published in a book now entitled The Trumpet of Conscience.  In this lecture Professor Cashin will rehearse the similarities and differences between King’s assessment of race relations, poverty, inequality and violence in 1967 compared to today. The chief similarity, she will argue, stems from the persistence of the American ghetto and the isolation and othering of its residents. The chief difference, she will contend, is that today African Americans have infinitely more allies of other colors than they did in 1967. She will conclude by positing a vision for transcending current racial divisions and building power among the many who are locked out of opportunity and endure racial and economic violence and exclusion.

The Forum and Lecture will be held in the Beaumier Suites on the Lower Level of the Raynor Library.

Directions and Campus Maps

Rev. Bryan Massingale Lecture:
"King's Birmingham City Jail Letter 50 Years Later"