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January 31, 2005 —
Nationally recognized race and gender expert Dr. Ella L. J. Edmondson Bell delivered the keynote address during SVSU's 2005 Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Thursday, Jan. 20.
The speech, given in front of a more-than-capacity crowd in Curtiss Hall, centered on the Celebration's theme, "What's Become of the Dream?"
As an education supporter, Bell took time before her speech to head across the building from the seminar rooms to the Emeriti Room. There, Bell thanked students watching her speech via closed circuit television.
Bell, who has served as a consultant to numerous Fortune 500 companies, took the podium around 7 pm and began with the reading of a poem.
Bell's passion and energy quickly became apparent as she held the crowd's attention while she delivered her words. When finished, Bell bowed her head while those in attendance gave her the first of many ovations throughout the evening.
Applause turned to laughter as Bell thanked SVSU President Eric Gilbertson and the rest of those at "this unbelievable institution in the middle of a cornfield." The Dartmouth professor continued to provide a mixture of humor throughout the evening, even bringing her speech to an abrupt pause to discuss the good looks of Harry Belafonte.
Despite her wit and humor, the serious moments were when Bell was at her finest.
Throughout the evening, Bell addressed numerous subjects, spending much of the time discussing education.
Bell's childhood showed through as the reason behind her passion for education.
She spoke of moments from her childhood and explained how her mother and father had only seventh and sixth grade educations, respectively.
As a black female, Bell explained how she was at a disadvantage to her white classmates as she entered school. Her teachers discouraged her and her classmates and kept them a year behind on their reading on account of their skin color. When it came time to take her college entry exams, the eventual Yale, MIT and Dartmouth professor knew that a good SAT score was around 600. Bell scored a 360.
Despite her poor test score, Bell persevered. With the help of a few dedicated mentors, Bell earned her Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Case Western Reserve University.
As her career has progressed, she continued to be an advocate for education.
Bell addressed poor economic conditions in many school districts and called for a renovation of the No Child Left Behind act because, "children are still being left behind."
The talk of education was fitting with the 85 SVSU students watching in the Emeriti Room.
Merry Jo Brandimore, assistant vice president of Student Services and director of Residential Life, spearheaded the student's attendance at the event by obtaining a block of tickets through the Office of Diversity Programs. She then instructed the Residential Assistants on campus to gauge student interest in attending the event.
Brandimore was pleased when it turned out there was enough interest in Bell's speech to fill the Emeriti Room to capacity.
Despite her delight, Brandimore was not surprised by the turnout.
"I think there are many students who are committed to diversity and are anxious to honor the memory of Martin Luther King and anxious to support the work and concept to help the dream live on," she said. "I see them having tremendous potential in changing the direction of the world. Students are well beyond some of us grown ups, in terms of accepting and embracing differences in people. They have a lot to teach us."
One of the students in attendance was freshman Cordell Bush, 18, of Flint. Like Brandimore, Bush was not surprised by the student turnout.
"Sometimes people think that kids and teenagers don't care about these types of things," he said. "But we do care. Many of us wanted to see what the program was all about and see what has become of Dr. King's dream."
Indeed, King's dream was also a focal point of Bell's speech.
Throughout the night, Bell emphasized that she would not have achieved all she has without the work of King and his dream. She speculated that many citizens, both black and white, have forgotten how to dream and that it was time to "put your money where your mouth is."
"The dream is more than just visualization," she said. "It can't just be about dreaming anymore. We need action."
One suggestion Bell offered for creating change was to get the individual more involved.
"What can we do to make a difference?" she asked. "We need to build bridges and learn from each other. It's not just about race anymore. It's about class. Poor people come in all colors."
Certainly, Bell touched on all different races and cultures.
She said the most unvoiced people are poor whites, urged everyone to treat those in the Middle East with greater respect and asked her fellow African Americans to "stop playing the victim. It's not what about the white people have done to us but what we're doing to each other."
As the evening was winding down, Bell told an anecdote of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.
She explained how, with the help of some of her colleagues, she was able to get support to hold some events in Harlem.
Though some of her colleagues were nervous from the stereotypes of the Manhattan district, Bell was proud that they "took Tuck out of New Hampshire and put it in the middle of black USA."
Bell used the story to help show that even the most conservative of people can embrace diversity and accept each other's differences.
The final topic Bell addressed was that of King himself.
"If he were still alive," Bell explained, "Dr. King would be proud and humbled to see everyone in this room celebrating his legacy."
Before walking off the podium, Bell again asked the crowd about the differences they could make.
"If this colored girl can make a difference," she said, "just imagine how all of us together could change the face of the world."