MLK Jr. Colleague Speaks

The most crucial element and the difference between success and failure in social change is leadership, according to Dr. Bernard LaFayette, Jr., a 1960s civil rights leader who spoke at the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center Thursday.

Lafayette worked closely with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and was instrumental in the execution of the Nashville Movement of 1960, the Freedom Rides of 1961 and the Selma Movement of 1961. His lecture, titled "Leadership in the Face of Adversity," focused on leadership and nonviolent change.

Lafayette, a broad-shouldered man whose easygoing manner contrasted his hardline views on disciplined, educated leadership, told students that a good "ship," or team, is what makes a good leader during his talk.

"If any leader has any integrity, that leader must admit to specific weaknesses," he said, and will find team members who can "supplement that lack of skills." He encouraged students engaged in leadership to find people who would support them but who would also bring a new perspective to the table. He encouraged diversity and versatility in a leadership team.

He said that King's team in the '60's, for example, included Hosea Williams, who LaFayette said could "start a riot in a cemetery." He was an ex-military officer who was seemingly invincible and who possessed unbreakable courage.

"The composition of Martin Luther King's 'ship' was what made him so effective," LaFayette said.

Another quality of good leadership is a clear vision, LaFayette told students - King only focused on one campaign at a time.

"Have broad interests but narrow goals in order to be effective," he said. He stressed the need to stay focused on goals and to make sacrifices accordingly.

To accentuate this point, he told the audience about one of the protest marches that had been held March 7, 1965. The planned march was to wind from Selma to Montgomery, but was cut short on the Edmus Pettus Bridge near Selma when Governor George Wallace deemed the protest a threat to public safety. State troopers and local police attacked the nonviolent protestors with billy clubs, bull whips and tear gas, and 17 of the marchers were hospitalized, according to BBC news archives.

Angered, the remaining protestors wanted to continue their march. But LaFayette said King made the right decision, aborting the march in order to avoid further harm. The event has come to be known as "bloody Sunday."

"It's how you respond to the events that makes the difference in terms of leadership," LaFayette said.

Lafayette, who holds a Master's and Doctorate from Harvard University, fielded students' questions after his talk, which lasted about 40 minutes. Questions ranged from advice regarding current social issues, the relevance of nonviolent protest today and the prevalence of willful segregation.

LaFayette said it is important to make the distinction between desegregation and integration. Desegregation only allowed blacks and whites to eat in the same places and use the same water fountains, he said, but it didn't force them to integrate. He encouraged students to actively counter the still-prevalent trend of social groups' segregation.

Most attendees appeared pleased with LaFayette's lecture.

"I was happy that I made the decision to skip my class to listen to the speech," said Sean Reilly, a 6th-semester communication major. "I wish more students would listen to those random e-mails about events on campus because there are a lot of great opportunities there. This particular [event] was inspiring."