Before she spoke at Edgewood College Wednesday night, Yolanda King was presented with a photo of Rosa Parks. This was a particularly fitting photograph as Parks is featured in King's new theatrical production. King performed a few excerpts of her production that, in addition to Rosa Parks, depict a young girl in Montgomery, Ala., about to board a bus and sit in any desired seat, for the first time.
The audience also got a glimpse of this young woman's life as she entered college and fought segregation and police brutality. The last depiction took place a few months after Martin Luther King Jr.'s death and emphasized that the fight for equality is not over.
King emphasized this message throughout her speech.
She acknowledged the work that her father had done for the advancement of civil rights, but was adamant about the cause for the future.
""The cause for which he lived is still a cause and the dream for which he died is still a dream,"" King said.
King went on to share a fact that was the inspiration for a large portion of her theatrical production.
""For all differences between human beings, less than one percent of our DNA separate us from one another,"" King said. ""We must learn to grow past the discomfort of these differences.""
Alex Samel, a UW-Madison sophomore, said, ""King's energy pulls you in. She is able to entertain while still sending a strong message.""
UW-Madison sophomore Julie Futterman agreed that advancements have been made in terms of civil rights, yet said she sees great room for improvement.
""Things have improved in the legal sense, yet there is still plenty of covert discrimination that takes place,"" Futterman said. ""King advises us not to become apathetic in our lives—we need to continue to work for change in our society.""
