PINE BLUFF — Comedian and civil-rights activist Dick Gregory told University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff students Thursday that the American civil-rights movement was a pivotal moment in history and that they should never forget the men and women who made it possible.
Gregory, 78, was keynote speaker at UAPB’s Annual Men’s Day Program, which drew about 200 guests.
“I marched with Martin Luther King, and I went to jail with him,” Gregory said. “King died for something, and it came over the whole world. Because of his death, civil-rights legislation was passed. Nothing like this has happened in the history of the world.”
Gregory said that it’s “shameful that people can take their kids to Disney World to see that rat, but they have never been to Martin Luther King’s grave. You can go to a damn football game, but you’ve never been to his grave. What’s wrong with you?”
An advocate for good nutrition for decades, Gregory said blacks should push for better stores and food choices in their neighborhoods. He noted that in many black neighborhoods, grocery stores no longer exist, having been replaced by convenience stores.
“Go across America today and go to the black neighborhoods,” Gregory said.“Ask why the grocery stores have left. When was the last time you’ve been to a convenience store and saw a peach or an orange or an onion or an apple or garlic? All they have is chips and sweet stuff.”
Throughout his speech, Gregory cracked jokes and offered students messages of encouragement, often pointing into the audience and raising his gravelly voice.
“I want you all to succeed,”Gregory said. “I want to see all of you rise above the suppression that was put upon you for so many years.”
Born in St. Louis, Gregory began working at a young age to help support his family, and he was heavily involved in sports and social causes in high school, according to biographical information provided by UAPB. Gregory became nationally recognized in the 1960s for his comedic routines that often addressed civil-rights issues.
Gregory soon became politically active, focusing on global issues such as world hunger, capital punishment, drug abuse and health care for the poor. He ran for mayor of Chicago in 1966 and for president in 1968. He lost both elections.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/08/2011