Perkins Urges VLS Students to Make a Difference
January 20, 2010
Perkins Urges Vermont Law School Students to Make a Difference
James Perkins Jr., the first black mayor of Selma, Ala., spoke at Vermont Law School's annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration.
James Perkins Jr., the first black mayor of Selma, Ala., marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Tuesday by urging Vermont Law School students, faculty and staff to dedicate themselves to a cause for social justice.
"Find yourself a reason, a cause, and make a difference," Perkins told more than 250 people in Chase Community Center. "There is a call to action in America" to combat racism, poverty and problems in health care, housing and other quality-of-life issues.
Martin Luther King, Jr., Day "is a day on, not a day off," he said.
Perkins, a Selma native, was among the first black students to enter Selma's A.G. Parrish High School in 1969 under mandatory desegregation. Shirley Jefferson, VLS associate dean for student affairs and diversity, became a classmate of Perkins in 1971 after the school was renamed Selma High School. Perkins and Jefferson became friends and student activists during their high school years.
"Who would have thought he would be elected mayor of Selma one day and I'd become associate dean here," Jefferson told the King Day audience. "We are living proof you can do anything."
The King Day celebration opened with a dedication to Professor Michael Mello, who died in November 2008, and the singing of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the African American national anthem, led by Jefferson and Kendra Brown, 1L.
Sean Williams, 3L, president of the Black Law Students Association, told the audience that the United States has made strides toward equality, citing desegregation laws, Perkins' election as Selma's mayor and President Obama's election.
"In spite of these strides, we still have a journey ahead of us," he said.
VLS Dean Jeff Shields introduced Perkins, citing his "rich and proven record" in community service, government and business and recounting his rise to the top elected office in Selma, a symbol of the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
Selma's mayor at the time was Joe Smitherman, a segregationist who served 35 years despite allegations of racism, corruption and negligence. In 1984, Perkins was a successful information technology professional, but he became the campaign manager for the first serious black mayoral candidate in Selma in an effort to unseat Smitherman.
That effort failed as did Perkins' own mayoral campaigns in 1992 and 1996, but he prevailed in 2000 and was re-elected in 2004. Under his leadership, Selma added jobs, improved public education, housing and safety and adopted an environmental clean-up plan.
Before Perkins' took the podium, Jefferson, Brown and Professor Oliver Goodenough sang another musical selection, "O Freedom."
Perkins opened his remarks by citing the instinctive ability of birds, bees and other creatures to work together to improve their lot, an ability he said that human beings seem to lack.
He cited the "challenges and confusion and conflicts" that humans ceaselessly bring upon themselves rather than cooperating to improve their families and communities and to live in peace and prosperity.
"One would have thought we'd have figured it out by now," Perkins said.
Perkins said he, Jefferson and other black children in Selma in the 1960s didn't understand the significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"We just wanted to go" to the local hamburger joint, the movie theater, the shoe store and other places and be treated equally, he said.
Perkins recounted his and Jefferson's civil rights actions in high school and his later mayoral campaigns in Selma, saying it took a community-wide effort to elect a black man to the city's highest post.
Perkins also recounted the history of racism in the United States, from the post-Reconstruction era when the first blacks were elected to U.S. Congress to later periods when no African Americans held federal elected positions to President Obama's historic election.
"Yes, we should celebrate our success, but we should remember the brutality of Bloody Sunday" on March 7, 1965, when police attacked peaceful civil rights marchers in Selma.
Perkins said he was uncertain if a conspiracy exists against black political candidates in America, but he warned against radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, the League of the South and others who promote "deceitful political talk."
BLSA President Williams said he was so moved by Perkins' words that he was considering going into community law or education law rather than entertainment law.
"His speech was amazing," Williams said. "It was awe inspiring."
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