King historian reflects on MLK's work, hope for the future during Rio Rancho celebration

RIO RANCHO — St. Thomas Aquinas School was packed Jan. 20, and the man who brought them all together was, of course, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

To celebrate King's life and his plans for the future, Rio Rancho played host to one of King's followers, historian Clayborne Carson, who attended the March on Washington in 1963 where King gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

When Carson began to speak Monday, the room was silent with reverence.

"When you tell the story Martin Luther King, you can tell it the most accurately by looking closely at what he was able to accomplish during his 39 years of life. I've lived twice as long as he ever lived. I've accomplished a small portion of what he accomplished," Carson said.

He prompted people to think about what might have happened if King lived on. He also went on to talk about some of his memories of that time.

"One of the first people I met was Stokely Carmichael. I was at a student conference in 1963, and this very articulate person comes up because they were discussing whether the National Student Association was going to support the March on Washington. And believe it or not, it was very controversial. One of the reasons why it was is because universities in the South were segregated," he said.

If the student association had joined to recognize the demonstration, they would lose university standing and go bankrupt.

"We're at the conference and I tell him, 'No, I think I'm gonna go;' this was just a conference maybe a month or two before the march. 'I'm gonna go further,' he said. 'Why are you going to that picnic? What if you really want to join the movement? Come out. Join us.'"

With Carmichael's words in his head, the 19-year-old Carson decided to head to the nation's capital for the march. But he was most looking forward to seeing another activist: the late Congressman John Lewis, one of the original Freedom Riders who was beaten by state troopers on Bloody Sunday.

"I went to the march, partly because of that meeting with Stokely Carmichael. I was very interested in what John Lewis had to say because he was the person closest to my age at the march. By the time Martin Luther King came along ... one of the things that occurred to me is this was the first time I'd ever heard him speak, and I realized that that was the last thing that I would ever want to do is follow Martin Luther King. No one could have followed that speech. And, it was after that speech that I became more involved in the movement and some of the works that I did," he said.

Two decades later, Carson got a call from Coretta Scott King, asking for his help documenting and publishing all of King's papers.

"I don't know to this day, exactly why she called me. ... I'm not the best historian. The most accomplished African American historian would have been John Hope Franklin at the time...'" he said. "She said, 'We need somebody very young. This is going to take a long time.' And little did I know that 40 years later, I'd still be working on that project. ...I retired before we could finish all the volumes of those papers. That probably won't happen until 2040."

Carson added, "It's taking us longer to edit and publish his papers than it took him to live his life."

Before Carson took the stage, various local leaders took their turn to say something about King's legacy. Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull made a proclamation on behalf of the city.

"Dr. King was a man of extraordinary courage, vision and resilience. He was a beacon of hope during some of the darkest chapters in our nation's history," he said.

He talked about King's work toward equality for all and how people living today can continue that.

Hull also said King's life was a "testament to the idea that even in the face of adversity, hope can prevail and justice can triumph."

After his speech, he presented Southern Christian Leadership Council Rev. Dr. Charles Bucknell Sr.

Then, former United States Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, a member of Laguna Pueblo, spoke about the alignment between African American communities and Native American communities.

"We're aligned in so many ways, and justice is one of the things that our communities have sought in so many ways throughout the centuries," she said.

Haaland also spoke about some news that came out of the White House before the transfer of power on Inauguration Day.

"This morning before President (Joe) Biden left office, he granted Leonard Peltier clemency," she said as tears welled up.

Peltier, now 80, is known as an indigenous activist who was convicted for murder of two FBI agents. Despite Native arguments that he was wrongfully convicted, he remained in prison until his pardon "on Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, when justice was one of the things that we believe in because of the legacy that Dr. King has left us," she said.

She ended with a positive message.

"As Secretary of the Interior, I spearheaded efforts to rename U.S. landmarks that had racist and derogatory names. Today and always, we must remember and practice Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of respecting everyone, no matter who they are, or their background, our beautiful state must continue to choose hope over fear, love over hate, community over division because we are all kindred spirits in the face of adversity. We have a long way to go, but I have faith that we can get there," she said.

The group also heard from U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, who took the opportunity to talk about Inauguration Day and its ties to King's celebration.

"A lot of people have asked me why I am here in New Mexico. And let me tell you, I did my constitutional duty two weeks ago and certified the election, but I choose not to celebrate in Washington today and to reflect on what (King's) life tells us about the path ahead, because that is the work in front of us: the fight for social, racial and economic justice and for peace, not just here in the United States but all across the world," she said.

Next, City Councilor Karissa Culbreath addressed the group. The crowd cheered when she was introduced as the first Black city councilwoman of Rio Rancho.

"It's a celebration I look forward to every year and one of the things I've been so impressed and inspired by in the city of Rio Rancho is the way our city comes together in such a beautiful and unique way to celebrate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," she said.

She said that the Bible reminds her "that hope maketh not ashamed and so my hope is built on nothing less than something that will never make me ashamed," and asked that everyone keep fighting for hope.

When Becknell took the stage last and the room fell silent with respect.

He ended his speech with a simple reminder: "We still have work to do."