SMU's McFarlin Auditorium earns historical marker commemorating MLK speech in 1966
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – It was, until now, a largely forgotten part of SMU's civil rights history.
In March of 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., accepted an invitation from the Student Senate to speak at McFarlin Auditorium.
"And so, every single seat was taken," recalls Charles Cox, then a member of the Student Senate. "And there were people standing. That's how big an event it was..."
Cox and a classmate drove Dr. King from the airport and to another speaking engagement before bringing him to campus.
"He was such a great guy. He had a sense of humor!" Cox shares with a fond chuckle. "He was not puffed up with conceit about how famous he had become. He was very down to earth, and it was a joy to meet him..."
Cox was also honored to introduce Dr. King to the overflow crowd – reading from the introduction he made that day: "...perhaps no man better manifests the spirit of the civil rights revolution... ladies and gentlemen, it is a real honor to present Doctor Martin Luther King..."
While there was no video recording of the speech, Cox says just listening to King's words even now gives him chills. He said he listened to the speech again Friday morning – marveling at how Dr. King spoke without notes for nearly an hour, and only five minutes after being told his topic.
"You must do it," encourages Cox. "Take 55 minutes and listen to his speech and listen to how he weaves philosophy, psychology, religion, history, and does it seamlessly without even a pause! Talk about an incredible speaker."
And yet, the 'great orator' to some, was an 'evil agitator' to others. And the tension of the moment was real. Born and raised in Wisconsin, Cox says he had never been taught racial hatred. And then he came to Texas.
"Then I came to Texas," he adds with a nod. "And learned how deep and powerful this feeling was in a lot of my fellow students. I'd go to these mixers and meet young men and women and they would just tell me 'it's not God's will for white and black to be together. Just look at the Bible'!"
They were indeed volatile times. "I had never experienced the whole idea of racial prejudice in an in-person way until I came to the South."
But the packed auditorium for Dr. King's appearance, he says, showed that not everyone was opposed to moving the campus forward.
"It just energized me to keep fighting for the right thing, which was the end to this evil of this discrimination and prejudice, that we're still fighting today!"
He says Dr. King also reminded the audience that the civil rights battle was being fought across color lines.
"He spoke about the fact that the civil rights organization, of which he was the head, had 200 employees, and 60 were white. So, we have to work together on this. And the speech weaves that in to bring that point across," says Cox. "I think we have made great advances in the 57 years since then... but we have so much farther to go."
As expected, security was extremely tight for King's visit.
"I was anxious about it, yeah... everybody had been through the Kennedy thing a few years before. My goodness. Yes, there was tension, but everything went well that day."
Fast forward half a century and now McFarlin Auditorium will be honored with a Texas Historical Commission marker – a reminder to all that seeds of change sprout, when watered from the heart.
"We have to look at the long arc of history, as King said, and I hope he'd be pleased if he had lived into his old age to see that more good things were happening."
But, he says, the battle goes on. And he's so proud of current and recent SMU students who worked so hard to make sure the moment was not forgotten and to secure the historical designation.
The community is invited to the celebration of the historical commission marker unveiling on Tuesday, February 21 at 6:30 p.m. at McFarlin Auditorium. Registration is encouraged.