Gena Asher | Jan. 14, 2011
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| IU News Room |
| Faculty and students plan to observe Martin Luther King Jr. Day with talks and travel. |
- IUPUI journalism associate dean Dan Drew will participate in a panel discussion at the Madame Walker Theater in Indianapolis.
- Visiting professor Marty Pieratt will talk about his book on breaking the color barrier at the Cincinnati Reds baseball team in a talk at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Ernie Pyle Hall auditorium.
- The Media Living Learning Center students will travel to Memphis, where King was assassinated April 4, 1968, to tour the National Civil Rights Museum and explore other areas of the city.
More:
- Learn about King, the holiday and the special events.
- Read below about Drew's, Pieratt's and Media LLC students' plans.
- Update Jan. 18: Read an IDS story about journalism senior Shabrelle Pollock, winner of the 2011 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. essay contest.
Drew recalls covering King, D.C. in 1968
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| Drew |
“I had interviewed King and had covered his talks, and that day, I was in Baltimore covering a demonstration by African American college students who wanted buildings repaired, but (then-Maryland governor) Spiro Agnew had shut down the college,” Drew said in a phone interview from his IUPUI office. “Driving back to the station, I heard on the two-way radio that King had been assassinated.”
Shocked, he drove to the station and filed his report, then listened to newscasts. The next day, Drew covered President Lyndon B. Johnson’s announcement of a blue ribbon panel to investigate King’s assassination. When he left the White House, he heard sirens.
He headed over to the D.C. police headquarters and, while working the story on the fourth floor, looked out a window and saw smoke. Protests of King’s murder had begun and the city declared a curfew to keep people off the streets. He drove home in the deserted streets.
“The next day, I drove to the riot area with another reporter,” Drew said. “People were just talking, but then we heard four shotgun blasts that turned out to be tear gas. Things instantly turned ugly.”
Riots and burning took over the district and, by the next day, the National Guard arrived. People rioted in other cities, too, but D.C. saw 12 deaths, 1,000 injured and more than 6,100 arrested by the time the situation resolved three days later.
“I later talked to an African American reporter I know and told him I was shocked and surprised,” Drew recalled. “He just said, ‘you guys weren’t watching, were you?’”
The events changed his perceptions but also shaped his future reporting, giving him better skills to cover crises.
“My advice is to keep a low profile, talk to people and listen. Take in the scene. Keep calm,” said Drew, who went on to work in television in Los Angeles before turning to academia. “It’s not all about interviewing but also about observing, taking in the sounds and smells to better tell the story.”
Drew will talk about his experiences as a member of a panel Monday at the Madame Walker Theatre Center in downtown Indianapolis. Sponsored in part by the Urban League, the 25th annual event also features a freedom walk and film screening.
More:
He headed over to the D.C. police headquarters and, while working the story on the fourth floor, looked out a window and saw smoke. Protests of King’s murder had begun and the city declared a curfew to keep people off the streets. He drove home in the deserted streets.
“The next day, I drove to the riot area with another reporter,” Drew said. “People were just talking, but then we heard four shotgun blasts that turned out to be tear gas. Things instantly turned ugly.”
Riots and burning took over the district and, by the next day, the National Guard arrived. People rioted in other cities, too, but D.C. saw 12 deaths, 1,000 injured and more than 6,100 arrested by the time the situation resolved three days later.
“I later talked to an African American reporter I know and told him I was shocked and surprised,” Drew recalled. “He just said, ‘you guys weren’t watching, were you?’”
The events changed his perceptions but also shaped his future reporting, giving him better skills to cover crises.
“My advice is to keep a low profile, talk to people and listen. Take in the scene. Keep calm,” said Drew, who went on to work in television in Los Angeles before turning to academia. “It’s not all about interviewing but also about observing, taking in the sounds and smells to better tell the story.”
Drew will talk about his experiences as a member of a panel Monday at the Madame Walker Theatre Center in downtown Indianapolis. Sponsored in part by the Urban League, the 25th annual event also features a freedom walk and film screening.
More:
Pieratt’s book describes breaking the color barrier
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| Pieratt |
Pieratt will talk about the book and his research at 7 p.m. Sunday in the Ernie Pyle Hall auditorium as part of the IU-wide celebration of King’s legacy. The theme this year is “Sustaining the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.”
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| Pieratt's book looks at the life of Hoosier Chuck Harmon, the first African American to join the Cincinnati Reds. |
“Washington, Ind., may have been better than other locations for African Americans at that time, but Chuck still rode a separate school bus, even though he helped lead his team to two state championships in 1941 and 1942,” Pieratt said. “He couldn't play at IU, where he wanted. He was told it was because he was not the right color at the time. The right time wouldn't happen until 1947 when Bill Garrett entered IU as the first African American basketball player in the Big Ten.”
Getting into “the bigs” didn't change things for the Harmon family.
“Many times, his wife, who was light-skinned, was given a seat at the stadium,” Pieratt said. “But when she did sit there, she heard what the fans were saying. Often, she chose to sit in the car in the stadium parking lot and listen to the game on the radio, especially when she had the kids with her.”
Pieratt also grew up in southern Indiana and worked as a broadcaster in Cincinnati. He remembers the King assassination and turmoil of the civil rights era from a grade-schooler’s perspective, but the ideals from the era began to mean something entirely different for him as he got to know Harmon and wrote the athlete’s story.
“I watched Walter Cronkite about every night. I read papers — Cincinnati Post, Indianapolis News, Indianapolis Star — before I delivered them,” he said of his boyhood. “It was very clear how horribly people of color were being treated and how it made no sense. It left a mark on my soul, so spending time with Mr. Harmon and witnessing his personal and cultural victory was wonderful.”
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Students’ trip to put history into focus
Media Living Learning Center students don't have reporting experience or memories of civil unrest. Instead, they will follow the King legacy in Memphis, the city where King was assassinated. The group of about 25 heads south Friday to spend the long weekend in the city.
“We’ll visit the National Civil Rights Museum and, to help put Memphis in context, the group will meet with David Arant, chair of the University of Memphis Department of Journalism,” said Kate Lee, director of recruitment and experiential learning, who will lead the students on the trip. The museum is housed in the former Lorraine Hotel building where King was shot while standing on the balcony of his room.
The students also may have some time to check out the local music scene and Elvis Presley’s former home, Graceland.
Students in the Media Living Learning Center program often travel during the semester. Student members live in a section of Read Center, where they collaborate on projects. They also attend special events and participate in media discussion groups.
Get involved:
- IU and the City of Bloomington are collaborating on events and volunteer opportunities. See how to get involved at the city's website.
- IU has several campus events planned. Check out the times and dates.
- Learn more about Martin Luther King Jr. and the national holiday at this list of resources from IU.
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