The Observer, February 2, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 15
Southgate commemorates MLK Jr. in "marvelous" speech
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What is it that inspires people to go beyond what they believe they are capable of in order to achieve something great? On Friday, Jan. 26, our university honored the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. with the help of the inspiring Joan Southgate, who was able to shed some light on what it is that has inspired her, like King, to achieve greatness in her life and work.
Joan Southgate, who delivered the keynote speech at Case's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration last Friday, has gone above and beyond to help others throughout her career as a social worker. Most recently she founded the grass roots, nonprofit organization Restore Cleveland Hope, which has worked to establish educational resources to commemorate Cleveland's anti-slavery past.
In particular, Restore Cleveland Hope successfully preserved the Cozad Bates House, the only pre-Civil War-era structure that still exists in the University Circle area. Among Southgate's numerous accomplishments, of particular significance in light of recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr., is her "walk;" not just any walk, mind you.
In 2002, at age 73, Southgate was inspired by "the voices of her ancestors" to walk over 350 miles across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Canada that had once been the Underground Railroad. The walk was meant to commemorate those who struggled to walk the same route before her. Throughout this extraordinary walk, she inspired friends and strangers alike to believe in the power of self-determination and renewed hope for social justice.
Southgate graduated from the Case School of Social Sciences in 1954; during her lecture she riveted students, faculty, staff, and members of the Cleveland communities with the story of her own heroism in the name of her enslaved ancestors. While Southgate admitted that she had arrived without her lecture notes, her audience was taken aback by her strength and confidence as she told the story of her upbringing, her walk through the Underground Railroad, her reverence for King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, and her most current ambition.
Perhaps among all the lessons learned from Southgate's lecture, most salient was the notion that the stories of strife from the civil rights era are still pertinent today. Southgate emphasized that those who have fought for social justice in the past provide hope for continued movement toward racial equality. She encouraged all of her listeners to believe that a just society is not out of reach, saying "we are closer than many of you think."
Teary-eyed listeners seemed to find personal meaning in these words. Emma Melton, a member of the Cleveland community, who has known Southgate since their children went to school together, commented that "this event was marvelous" and "had deep personal meaning." Melton expressed a shared belief in the importance of honoring the spirit of our ancestors and hoping for continued efforts toward social justice.
Moreover, Melton explained that her extended family of over 70 people recently honored their ancestors by traveling through the plantation land of the pre-Civil War-era on a chartered bus. In addition, Kathryn Hall, Case's Director of Equal Opportunity and Diversity, was moved by her own admiration for Southgate's "courage, hope and a drive for freedom." Elementary school students from the Sunbeam School were also stirred by Southgate's lecture. Thirteen-year-old Alicia Wilson explained that "I want to pick her" in reference to her desire to write about Southgate for a school assignment on "heroes."
The crowd's positive response to Southgate's speech suggested that the Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation was a success. In addition to hearing Southgate's inspirational speech, members of the audience also had the opportunity to hear opening musical selections by the a capella group Dhamakapella. Following the lecture, audience members had the option of attending a short reception, where Southgate offered to sign copies of her book about her tremendous cross-country walk, In Their Path.
